The Melody of Frost and Flame
by writer of chaos
Summary: Suffering from injuries and seeking a way to heal, a certain firebender travels the land to find someone, who can help him. However, this journey might take him to places most unexpected and deliver him to a fate even he would not have thought of.
1. New Journey

Author's notes: Greetings, my loyal League of Readers! It is a great pleasure that I can introduce you, my newest work of art, titled „The Melody of Frost and Flame." Pun entirely intended. Now, I must thank my great friend and beta-reader, Rassilon, for the inspiration for this story and the title, and the motivation for me to do this stuff. This might just be the longest fanfic I ever wrote. Of course, if I finish it, unlike I did the Mask of Fright or Rise of the No More Hero. Those two are on a looooong break, while I figure out what to do with them, which most likely includes a complete rewrite and a complete plan for the story. They were products of a dark chapter of my past, when I merely wanted to create, but had no idea what to create, so that's what I ended up with. Improvised writing that wasn't very good. Thus I apologize to anyone, who'd like to see more of those, but right now, I doubt I'll be able to write continuation to them, instead I'll work on a rebooting of both. But until then, please enjoy this story, about…well, I'm not going to spoil it to you this early on, am I? You just sit back and watch…I mean read! On with the story!

Disclaimer: The aliens came! And they told me I do not own anything from the Avatar universe, except this story idea and my own original characters that I add to the story! And they also told me they have cookies!

* * *

Water.

An almost infinitely long, deep blue stretch of water.

As far as the eye could see, only the calm, gentle waves striking the side of the ship, the even calmer parts of the sea further away from it and in some instances, since the voyage was nearing its end, some ice.

This was the view that welcomed him. The view that, however uncomfortable right now, he would have to get used to if he wanted to accomplish what he wanted in the first place. Even though he had to agree, that the ice made the place seriously out of his element. Or not even just the ice. Rather, the water. And the cold. And the usual weather. And the culture existing here.

Mako sighed slightly, as he sat on the soft seat that was provided to him, looking out into the vast sea, thinking about what he was going to do. His left arm, bandaged and tied up, still hurt slightly, he noted, as he tried moving it gently. He sure hoped that it wouldn't last long. Coming this far away from Republic City alone made it especially hard for him, but as always, he grit his teeth and managed. This was his attitude towards things all his life and it wouldn't change now.

Turning to face a more colorful scenery than just blue, he glanced at some of the other passengers. They were a diverse bunch, that's for sure. As if the great war all those years ago never even happened. There were people from all over the world, traveling to this place or that. Young and old, men and women, all traveling to somewhere and from somewhere else. Mako pondered what it would have been like in the time of the war. Well, he would not have been going to where he was right about now. Or at least not without weaponry, a battleship and a whole regiment of fire nation soldiers going along for the ride. Or rather, him going along with them.

But that time was long gone and he was glad this was the case. In these days, a time like that in the war was unimaginable. Conflict still raged here and there, but what kept the world in fear from the mighty fire army and navy was now over. This drew a small smile over the young man's face. Yes, conflicts still raged here and there and in recent times, he and his friends fought the greatest possible battles of their lives. The fact his left forearm was still in bandages and hanging on some gauze tied around his shoulder was reminiscent of that fact. And, just like everything else, thinking about it made Mako remember it. Which caused a slight shot of pain to go through his arm.

He really wished the pain could just end there, without another thought going to it. Just ' _woosh_ ' and over. Just like that. He would be rid of it and it wouldn't hold him down any longer, making any and all movement hurt and turn firebending into a string of pain-filled motions, desperate to stir up fire in the air.

Standing up, he walked across the deck of the ship, listening to the sound of waves crashing against the metallic side of the vessel, reminding him of a chained giant, pounding on the door of it's cell, wishing to be free. Though, why, he could not understand fully. This giant was free. Perhaps the chained giant wasn't the sea, but something else? Nevertheless, he shook the thought aside and decided to continue walking towards the back of the ship, admiring the view and getting familiar with his surroundings. That always set his mind at ease.

Reaching the rear of the cruiser, though, something stopped him in his tracks, slightly in shock. That…the long, black hair, fluttering slightly in the wind …that outfit, seeming both comfortable and elegant…his mind began racing at the sight he saw, eyes glued to the back of the person he spotted. Soon, however, he had to accept reality. That girl he saw wasn't Asami. With a short sigh, he turned and decided to let his path take him somewhere else, a slight frown on his face.

Leaning against the railing and staring out into the sea again, he thought about where he went wrong and how he could correct his mistakes. If he could, even. Well, there was always room for hope, but somehow, he began doubting himself more and more over the past couple of months. Especially with his arm being the way it was. At least he got out with his life, though. His face scrunched up slightly as the thought seemingly brought with it some further, slightly more intense pain stinging his palm.

Continuing his lone stroll down the deck, he made his way past a couple of children playing together, scattering out of his way as he calmly walked by, letting a tiny smile come to his lips, seeing two brothers wrestling together, until their mother or aunt called after them to stop making a fuss. To think back, he never would have thought he and Bolin would reach what they did in the end. Though he wasn't one to openly admit it, but he was proud of his little brother. And, afterall, of himself too.

But good thoughts can often disappear in an instant, giving way to bad ones. Remembering his time with Bolin also reminded him of some less pleasant moments. That sickly, pale face with that hellish frown in particular. In a minute, he felt as if the skin on his right hand was heating up, wanting to release the fire contained inside in reaction to his thoughts. Calming himself with a sigh, Mako continued, turning away from the sea. No. It's okay. He was safe now.

They all were.

Thinking back also awoke many good memories within him. Looking around, his mind kept showing him images of the past. Those vibrant, blue eyes…that cocky, confident grin…those abilities…good times. He could feel the happiness replacing the slight shock in his heart. He had to focus on the good things. Who wanted to weep and moan about things of the past anyways? Parts of his mind wanted sometimes, apparently.

That was when he noticed _them_.

Sitting together near the front end of the ship's passenger deck, a man and a woman sat, leaning against each other, not speaking or communicating in any way, simply holding each other's hands and watching the scenery. Mako was never one to particularly like Varrick and never got to know Zhu li that well, but somehow, seeing this vision in front of him, a small, happy smirk appeared on his face.

To be completely honest, Mako could even say he envied Varrick. To love someone so dearly and have it returned in kind. It was adorable, if he really thought about it. Something he never quite felt. Bolin always told him he'd meet a nice girl one day, but that always seemed silly to him. Like a fairy tale, to meet the love of his life and settle down, destined to live happily ever after. That wasn't really _him_. Not that he knew, at least.

But those two, of course, weren't Varrick and Zhu li. They wore clothes akin to Republic City citizens, so he guessed they came from there. Still, he mentally congratulated them and looked another way, seeing the ice begin to multiply in his field of vision, as the large ship drew closer and closer to the North Pole, also noticeable by the air's temperature dropping at an aggressive rate. He had to pull the coat he was wearing tighter against his body to keep the warmth inside.

Such a strange journey he was on. Traveling far away from his home and hoping that the thing he sought would be where he went. Only time would tell. But he knew, that even if this turned out bad, he could still return to Republic City and do something. He just wasn't sure exactly what. Or with who. But his friends would back him up if he needed some help, wouldn't they?

Wouldn't they?

Of course they would. But thinking about that annoyed him. Now, his brain wanted to focus on something else instead. The long voyage rather tired him out and he decided that some sleep would be the best course of action. To take at least a short nap before they got to shore at their destination. That couldn't hurt.

Walking through a larger group of people, he brushed past and bumped into some of them, eventually almost knocking over a young girl. She managed to steady herself, but seeing her made Mako stop slightly. Once again. That short, brown hair. That tanned skin. Those blue eyes, though not as ferocious, reminded him of Korra.

Swiftly apologizing and turning away, he approached his own cabin, now with hastier steps. The sting in his arm worsened slightly, as he used his left hand to open the door accidentally, wincing slightly at the pulsing feeling.

Stepping inside and closing the door behind himself, Mako pondered on his past and present. Neither of them were perfect, but considering the odds, they were far prettier than he ever thought. Then what was this feeling? This feeling, eating away at him, as if it wanted to outright consume him. Something was wrong and he could clearly see that. Maybe he just needed to rest and that would do the trick, he thought as he approached the bed, hopping on and falling asleep rather quickly.

His thoughts still wandered to the past, presenting it as far better, but sometimes far worse, than the current times. Memories of all shapes flooded his brain, as if wanting to overload it with information and emotions. It seemed, this lingering feeling didn't leave him, not even in his dreams. It followed, attaching itself onto the firebender and not letting go until he didn't solve it.

But to find the answer, he needed to look deeper into that he did not wish to. Well, he figured, might as well try and remember how this ordeal started. Might figure out something useful. And if not, well, he would look for more pleasant, if not that productive, thoughts.


	2. Aftermaths

Author's notes: Greetings, my loyal League of Readers! Let us continue this story of ice, ships, firebenders and mysteries, shall we? I hope you enjoyed last chapter and will also enjoy this one.

Disclaimer: The writer of this fanfiction does not take ownership of any copyrighted characters, themes, worlds and other stuff featured in this fanfiction. He writes it purely for entertainment and doesn't make any-*SNOOOOOOOOOORE* Okay, I think we know how that goes. Anyway, I do not own The Legend of Korra series, or the world in which it is set, or the characters. (Sure wish I did, because then I'd make lots more money than I do otherwise. Meh.)

* * *

 _ **One week earlier.**_

The water was gently lapping at his fingertips.

Thoughts rampaged through his head, running loose.

In this state of body and mind, something, no, everything, felt wrong.

He felt broken.

He felt useless.

He felt like the entire purpose of his existence was cracked and butchered, leaving only a tortured, lonely soul behind.

That was how Mako would have described his current situation right about now. Sitting in a small room, his whole arm dipped in a bowl of water, as a water tribe healer did some magical whatnot above his arm, making the burn supposedly heal faster. Pitiful indeed. Like he was chained there, unable to do anything, much less go look for his friends and do something with them.

Not that the healing techniques did what they were supposed to do either.

Since the destruction of Kuvira's Colossus and the creation of the new Spirit Portal, everything was flipped on its head. Nothing seemed the same as before and nothing seemed right to the firebender. In general, he didn't like the new situation. Even if he was happy for his friends and their happiness, he still felt left out. Abandoned, even. He still kept contact with his friends, but they were far away now and he couldn't just up and visit them any time he wanted.

Bolin traveled to Zaofu with Opal to visit her family and hone his lava bending skills. Mako could understand, of course. His little brother could finally do something with his life, that was useful and made him happy. Living with his girlfriend and helping the Metal Clan rebuild their proud city. It was good to see Bolin finally standing on his feet and lead a life towards a happy future, especially after what happened with Kuvira and after Bolin put so much faith in her, but the older brother had to admit, it was somewhat strange and depressing to see his younger sibling grow up. It made him both proud and sad at the same time.

Of course, he vowed to visit them every time he could, which mostly meant the times he could go on vacation. But he also vowed to rarely ever go on one. Not because he wouldn't have wanted to see his little brother and his soon to be wife, but because he was sure neither Lin, nor his conscience would allow such a thing very often. He had a job as a detective now in Republic City, something he was very proud of and worked very hard to keep. Even Lin sometimes expressed the tiniest amount of pride, when Mako solved a harder case, though she of course would do her best to not show it. Thus, the firebender remained in his beloved city, as a good detective most often does, always ready to work, always ready to do his best to protect this town.

After this train of thought reached its end of the line, his mind wandered over to his other two closest friends, Asami and Korra. That was something he never expected. Their relationship came out of nowhere, but maybe he was just unobservant. They went to the spirit realm together and came back… _changed._ Not in a bad way, but in a strange way instead. He wasn't an idiot, of course, he did see the signs, but _this_ was quite unexpected. The two went on a trip to the Spirit World and returned with a change of heart. Quite a big one. A change emphasized by the little glistening objects on their left ring fingers. Hm. Mako never guessed that they'd keep traditions with **that** of all things. Of course, back then, like all the others, Mako congratulated the two on their happiness together and attended the wedding a few weeks later, along with Bolin, Opal, Varrick, Lin and some other people close to Korra. It was nice, he had to admit, even if he didn't really expect and couldn't completely believe this happening. Soon after, they also said goodbye to Mako, though promising to return to Republic City once their honeymoon was over. But there was still a good month or two, maybe even three until then.

Even Varrick and Zhu li, people the firebender never considered as much of a company to himself, but people he could've used to chat with from time to time, were now out of his reach, as they went on a 'business trip' to the Southern Water Tribe. Something, again, that Mako could understand, but it didn't make his situation any easier. He felt alone in the last couple of months. They still exchanged messages and sometimes even managed to talk through the telephone line, but it of course wasn't the same as talking in person. Asami and Korra always promised that they would meet again once they came back and that brought Mako happiness, but he doubted that day would come soon. Of course, he wouldn't want either of them to come back early just because of him, so he felt it was appropriate.

Lin, his boss, remained just about the only person close to him in Republic City. And he needed her too, as in the past few months since Kuvira's defeat, things weren't getting that much better. Well, most things did, except for something that caused the firebender a lot of problems.

His arm.

The one he got injured and burned while zapping the core of the metal giant, that was burned and scarred almost up to his elbow. It wasn't pretty, but he wasn't paid to have a pretty hand. No, he was paid to keep the city safe. Something this scar surprisingly made him unable to do. It kept stinging, as if the burn was fresh. Sometimes, it went away, but then returned slightly later, at the worst possible times, not only slowing him down, but causing a distraction _and_ inhibit his bending abilities. Controlling fire with one arm was much harder now and using his lightningbending was virtually impossible. Thus, doing his job was considerably harder. As a detective, he had to do some legwork as opposed to just filing reports, mostly apprehending suspects and from time to time, protecting witnesses. Something made quite hard by a left arm that kept pulsing with pain from time to time and that he could not bend with.

He could still remember his latest case.

* * *

 _It was about a Triple Thread Triad member, with the name "Earthquake Tong." To say the least, it was a big case. Connected to not just the man himself, but a number of different thugs and goons, most of whom were important to catch. He could still remember the rain falling that evening. As if nature or the spirits themselves wanted to accentuate the overall feeling of the entire police and the detective in particular, to help them realize what they were supposed to feel, if they were somehow unaware of it._

 _Though, the firebender needed indication of sadness and slight despair the least. It did not appear that hard, and yet there he was in the end. A slight droplet of blood dripped down the side of his face, his arm feeling as if it wanted to be torn off or blown up any second. To say it was unbearable was an understatement. He just wanted to scream and then maybe hit the wall in anger._

 _But of course he didn't._

 _What use would it have been? The pain would just increase with it, not decrease. He broke enough things that evening as is. Well, not just he._

 _Sitting on the pavement, trying to calm the buzzing wasp's nest that was his mind, he tried to focus on something, anything, to keep himself occupied, while he waited for reinforcements and for someone to put the life that the earthbender beat out of him, back into his body. It was all he could do to distract himself from useless thoughts._

 _Recounting what reports he still had to file, remembering encounters with witnesses, assessing the situation as best as he could, holding his good hand to his forehead in thought, a grimace of tension, anger and worry appearing on his otherwise unaffected visage. If anyone he knew closely found him that evening, they surely would have thought he went insane or was replaced by an almost completely similar clone of his. It was quite unusual for him to be like this and normally, he wouldn't have been anything similar, but now, it was different._

 _It wasn't just the recently botched up case or the stinging pain in his arm. No, it was a long, long time of steady realization. Of small mistakes and big ones, that ultimately led to him sitting where he did on the pavement, only able to sigh at his current predicament. How pathetic was he? The thought returned to him and he shuddered from the violent shot of pain crawling through his left arm. As if his chest didn't hurt enough from the fight. Or his legs. Or his…everything else._

 _Sitting there and thinking about his current situation only brought him back to where he was at the beginning._

 _Sadness._

 _And a constant feeling of worthlessness._

 _He did his best, but something clearly had to be done about his injury. Afterall, he couldn't just let it draw him back for the rest of his life. Waiting it out clearly didn't work for some reason._

 _However, right about now, his mind wasn't ready to search for possible aids to this problem. All thoughts he started went different ways, but the apparent shame in his failure and the clanking boots drawing closer kept reminding him of one single thought. One that he didn't like._

 _'_ Well, Lin will be pissed. _' he thought._

* * *

 _And pissed she quite was, as his inability to arrest Tong resulted in not only the escape of the mafia goon, but several others, who were just about in the reach of the police force, disappeared from the streets and from the radar of the law enforcements. Like a domino effect, many members of the triads went underground and the police had to start all over again with many of them._

 _"_ What the Hell happened back there, Mako? _" Lin asked the young detective, keeping her voice calm, but her stern expression easily betraying her annoyance, as the police investigated the scene of the brawl, asking the witnesses and the firebender sat on a bench, arm in bandages and several bruises on his body, where he was hit. "_ You were lucky he didn't take you out for good. _"_

 _"_ I'm sorry, chief, _" he responded letting out a sigh, finding the pavement beneath his feet really interesting all of a sudden, as he stared at it, like it held the complete explanation of the location for Tong's newest hideout. "_ I messed up. _"_

 _"_ That's putting it lightly. _" Lin responded, though her voice was slightly softer now, having noticed the depressed look on Mako's face and feeling slight pity for the boy. She knew how hard it was, with his unhealing injury. Like when she was injured, during her time as a new member of the police. She felt like a piece of useless garbage until she was fully healed. She knew he had the same problem, except his didn't seem to go away, not even after months of waiting. And especially knowing what kind of person Mako was, she knew this was almost killing him. "_ This can't go on like it does now, you know that. _" she continued, rubbing the bridge of her nose, as she watched her men talking to the witnesses._

 _"_ So am I fired, then? _" The firebender asked, looking back at his boss, tilting his head to the side slightly, eyes looking at hers curiously. "_ I hope you don't mean that, though. _" He added, dreading the fact that she didn't even say what would be his punishment, nor what she would have him do next. She was the person he trusted the most and he was one of her best detectives, so he always got the assignments from her. Because of this, her silence especially scared him._

 _"_ No. I wouldn't do that to you. Ever. But we have to do something about your arm. It can't go on like this and you know that. I'm afraid we have to send you on some paid vacation for a while. _" She said, triggering white hot fear to spike up in the man's brain. What would he do with himself if he was sent away from the police? This was about the only thing keeping him sane without his friends, except from the rare occasions, when he and Lin went out for coffee together. Work kept him focused on something other than the fact that he just couldn't find anyone to talk to or connect with. Taking that away, he would go mad. "_ And, _" Lin added suddenly, prompting Mako to raise an eyebrow. "_ I'm sending you to a therapist to take care of that arm. A couple of sessions and you should be alright. It must be that you kept doing what you always do and got yourself in trouble, otherwise, I bet it would've healed much faster. _"_

 _At the end, she smiled slightly, patting him on the shoulder. Of course, there were no arguments. She didn't even have to say "It's an order." He knew not to argue. Not with Lin Beifong. He simply nodded, accepting his fate. Maybe it'd do good for him, even. It was common knowledge, that water tribe healers could do magical things, if they put their bendings to it, and he knew from Korra that the healers of the north, many of whom came to Republic City over the years to open small therapist shops in town, were exceptionally skilled even among the water tribe. Perhaps one of them could help._

 _"_ Thanks. I appreciate it. _" He told Lin, who only responded with a nod and a small, but friendly, smile._

* * *

And so he went to the healer, who was considered the best (and most expensive) in Republic City, took a few sessions, with the kind, but increasingly desperate woman promising each time that he would feel better 'after the next one for sure' but to no avail. It seemed, that she couldn't help him. Not in a week, at least. It seemed like it was to be expected to him, as he didn't expect his wound to heal so quickly, but seeing her distraught expression made it obvious that it wasn't the simple case of a stubborn, unhealing injury. She told him each time to rest and take some medication for the pain. Truth be told, the pain did go away, but only as long as the medication's effect lasted. After it dissipated, the pain came back, wrecking his arm with even more torment. Maybe it was his fate. To be tortured forever by this thing. Something that, he remembered he himself inflicted, when zapping that stupid piece of spirit vine. And so now here he sat, in a chair, with his left forearm dipped into water, a woman waving her hands above it as the technique did it's best to work, the water forming interesting shapes around his hand, like a strange, self-moving towel, that wanted to wipe it down from his elbow to the tips of the fingers.

And yet it proved useless.

It didn't help and they both knew it.

So what use was this now? Him sitting around, wasting both his time and hers. He didn't doubt her abilities to heal, as he'd seen many people with appointments come in before him and leave like they've been completely changed, both in body and spirit, but apparently, his burns were just too deep to be healed.

"Thank you, but I think that's enough." He suddenly said, his free hand reaching for the therapist's shoulder and gently tapping it, as he pulled his burnt hand out of the cool water. It was no use, so why try it anyways? He had to give up and look for a new job. Something for one-armed people. Or maybe they'd give him some office job at the police. Right now, anything was good, as long as it occupied his time. He ignored the healer's desperate 'buts' and 'please'-s, reaching into his pocket to pull out the appropriate amount of money.

However, once she took it for her services, she mentioned something else.

"If you'll allow me, detective, I might have one last hope for you." She said, earning a curious glance from him and a gesture to continue. "There is a woman, living in the North. She originates from the South, but after Avatar Korra left her home, she too traveled, to teach waterbending. She is an exceptional healer and it has been said, that she can wield water, like it was an extension to herself, both in combat and for healing. I was fortunate enough to receive some lessons from her and, though I'm not sure, but she might be the one to help you with your problem. If I couldn't." She said, looking hopeful and for once, it sparked an idea into Mako's head. Going to the North. Hm. He'd have to ask Lin for a longer vacation, but he always wanted to see that place too. Just once, but he guessed this might be the universe telling him that he did need to see it indeed. Hm. Well, if it helped, then he was eternally grateful to this woman. If not, well, he had a nice trip, he got to meet an exceptional waterbender teacher and could always ask Lin for an office job.

"Thanks. And…who is this woman, if I may ask?"

"Oh, sorry, her name is Roka. Trust me, if anyone can help you, she can."

 _ **Now.**_


	3. The land of ice up North

Author's notes: Hello there, my pretties! How are you doing this fine day? I'm doing splendid, thank you, hope you're doing okay as well. I hope you are doing swell and if not, then I sincerely hope my stories that I bring you can make your life better, if only by cheering you up and drawing a smile onto your faces! I will be continuing this story further, sewing together a longer story than I have ever before written! But putting that aside, I know what you all came here to read. Thus, once again, ON WITH THE STORY!

Disclaimer: Do you know who owns The Legend of Korra, all copyrighted material associated with it and all things that are belonging to this person? You do? Good. I'm not this person. I only own this story idea. And a certain weird person. Who is this weird person? You will find out sometime later.

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To say that Mako wasn't amazed by the Northern Water Tribe once he arrived would have been a definite lie. His jaw practically dropped, when after the long, almost painfully long ship journey, he finally spotted the tops of the ice buildings and the great wall that covered most of them. It has been a long and, toward the end of the travels, very cold endeavor, but he was finally here. Not only was the remedy of his injuries within arm's reach, but so was the opportunity to see something new and interesting. Maybe that helped ease his mind? He could only hope. This was a nation he was interested in for even he didn't know how long. After all, the Northern Water Tribe held its own against the powerful Fire Nation during the great war. That must prove their quality as people, no? Even the mighty Earth Kingdom only managed one big city.

Seeing the tall, almost humongous towers, made of ice, stretch towards the sky in front of him, as well as the gentle, colorful, spiritual glow that emanated from the frozen icecap, but still not too far from the large city made his eyes widen slightly, while the ship was quickly approaching it's destination, coming to a halt in the harbor, with the captain explaining his reluctance to end this amazing journey, but also his happiness to have brought the passengers to this "Truly one of a kind place of wonders and beauty!" as he called it. Besides the fact that it was obvious he was doing a slight advertisement to people still unsure whether or not they absolutely needed to move here for life, Mako couldn't help, but nod slightly, as the ramp was lowered and the people walked off the boat, some waving back at the crew in a friendly way. He had a point in calling it what he did, if with a slight exaggeration.

But that didn't matter. His aid was in "arm's reach" he could say, a slight smile on his face at the thought of finally having this journey of carrying his wound around end at last. Something the wound itself seemed to object to, as it began to sting with a pain similar to when Pabu got annoyed at him for one thing or another and used his teeth to explain. He had to find this healer soon.

"A short turn right, then left, now follow along the street until you reach a tall, tower-looking building, then make a left turn. Go through the second gate on the left and you should be there." The detective repeated the water tribe healer's instructions over and over, desperately hoping that his troubles would be worth it. Though, if this Roka was so skilled, that she actively gave lessons to the supposed best healer in Republic City, she must have her talents. Turning according to the instructions, he soon reached a small building located close to a market-looking area, with a short, two-floor house built between two much taller ones. This must have been the place.

Taking a deep breath, he took a few steps forward and knocked on the wooden door, looking around in slight curiosity. He felt slightly nervous, as this wasn't really what he expected. Such a renowned healer must be making a lot of money from her services. Why such a small house, then? And why no long line of people, who wanted to be healed?

Maybe it was simply out of season to get injured at this place, hence the noticeably small amount of customers.

The door soon opened, however and Mako looked at the elderly woman, who, despite her obvious age, emanated an aura of skill, intelligence and authority. In her home, at least. She seemed as old as the firebender's grandmother, but she certainly looked like she could be in a better health than most elderly women of her age. Mako's bets were on the much cleaner air of the icecaps. Yet, she didn't seem like any normal old woman. Like when he met Lin's mother, Roka seemed to have more up the big furry sleeves of her blue coat than the eye would normally see. But, of course, he didn't come to fight her, but to ask her for help.

"Uh, good morning. Sorry, are you Roka?" he asked, slightly worried he might have gotten the wrong house or address. He was hoping it was not the case, but considering his luck in the past few months, nothing was impossible to imagine. Though, he felt a shot of relief rush through, cooling his mind, as the woman smiled warmly and nodded slightly, looking him over in a moment.

"Yes, that is me, young man. What can I help you with?" She asked, a gentle expression on her face, prompting Mako to feel a tad more relieved than he already was. Looking over the woman, she certainly wasn't who he expected her to be from the healer's description in Republic City. That person said Roka was a world-famous member of the Water Tribe, with skills in healing reaching a level of miracles, her abilities and experience allowing her to treat serious wounds with ease. So it was quite a surprise to Mako to see this woman, who, if anything, resembled her grandmother, rather than a rich and famous waterbender master, with her bend back and kind face, but as he himself experienced, power can hide in many forms. Thus, he didn't question her supposed skills and instead opted to explain his sudden appearance.

"Excuse me. My name is Mako and I come from Republic City. I don't want to bother you, but I have an injury that can't be treated by healing techniques and doesn't heal on it's own. I was told you could do something with it." He explained his situation, raising his left hand slightly, to which the woman responded with a gesture to hold his hand higher, after which she took it and caressed her palms over his forearm, studying the bandages and doing a short examination, while nodding for him to go on. "I…I….I was told by a student of yours, that if anyone can help me, it is you." Mako added, looking curiously at Roka's serious, slightly worried expression.

"Hmm, fine. Come inside." She finally said, gesturing for him and turning, stepping back inside the building, followed shortly by the detective. She motioned for him to sit in an armchair, that seemed pillowy and soft to sit on, as she pulled a chair to the left side of it and sat down on it, motioning at the armchair and simply saying "Please, sit."

He did as he was told and winced slightly, as the healer carefully opened the bandages, pulling them off to reveal his injury. Upon noticing the wound, he could spot a slight spark of worry and sadness in her eyes. As if she just got news of the death of a loved one or some other bad thing.

"When did you acquire this injury?" She inquired, drawing a bit of water to her hands from a nearby bowl and using waterbending to keep the fluid around her digits, like some sort of squishy glove. Her covered hands gently touched his forearm, making him slightly wince from the pain, but obviously much less than he they would have, if she was not using water. He had to admit, so far, she knew what she was doing.

"About four months ago. Why?" He questioned, not really understanding the reason behind her asking about this, but figured it would do little harm to answer. The memory also made him wince slightly. As if his forearm replayed those moments exactly as they happened.

"Hmmm, I see." Roka replied, moving her hands to his wrist and hand, her fingers touching his palm gently. "Hmmm. I can heal you, but it will take some time. This isn't any ordinary wound, is it?" She asked, receiving nothing but a short nod in response. "Thought as much. You see, it isn't just the fact that the skin became red. The pain isn't in the skin." She continued, reaching over to another bowl to draw some more water on her hands, this time moving it all onto his forearm, completely enveloping it in the floating liquid, from elbow to fingertips. "It goes all the way down to the bone. You were lucky you didn't lose this hand. And for four months, you kept up with it. The scars seem to run deeper than your eyes would tell you. The reason why the other healers couldn't do much for you is because they saw these here." She mentioned, gesturing at his reddened, burned skin. True, it did look gruesome, but it seems the look in and of itself wasn't hiding the true problem. "They might have focused on treating this, but that doesn't help your real pain. We have to reach deeper. But that will take a few sessions." She explained, drawing away the water and dropping it into a larger white bowl, much to Mako's disappointment, that the cooling, gentle touch disappeared.

"I see. And…how many do you think?" He asked, raising up his injured hand to take a look at it. The scars looked slightly better, though he knew it was only on the outside now. "And…sorry, I don't like asking this, but…how much will this cost in your opinion?" He questioned further, feeling a slight tinge of embarrassment reach him. It felt weird to ask how much would this service cost, mostly because of Roka's attitude towards it. She looked like a person with lots of experience, knowledge and skill, but didn't act like an uppity jerk because of it. Instead, she was almost…motherly, visibly caring for the health and comfort of her patients, instead of focusing on the money. He felt as if he just offended her, but luckily, she smiled slightly and chuckled.

"I don't know. We will find out, but if you can come here every morning, it should take about a week or so." She said, before putting a hand to her mouth. "And we will discuss the money, when you're all healed up. I don't like talking about business with someone in pain." At that, he nodded in agreement. "We can begin right about now. I don't have any patients for today anyway." She added, walking to a small cupboard and fishing out a couple of vials, with some fluid or another in them, putting them onto a small counter below. She also picked out a long, thin bowl, wide enough to lay someone's arm into it comfortably, but only just so, if it was filled with water. She picked up one of the vials, also taking the bowl and bringing them back to the armchair, pulling a small table between it and the chair and putting the white porcelain object onto it, opening the vial and looking into it from the top for a moment.

With a slight sigh, Mako nodded, laying his forearm into the bowl, which he noticed, was just at a comfortable height for him to lean back in the armchair and have his arm looked at at the same time, while Roka used her skills to draw the water from the bottle and gently levitate it above his arm, slowly dropping the translucent fluid onto the scarred limb. At once, a gentle, calming cool ran through not just his arm, but Mako's entire body felt as if the feeling just tossed him against a soft, cool pillow, that was so nice to touch, he felt like he could fall asleep in it, leaning back in the armchair and closing his eyes and welcoming the kind hug of slumber.

His hopes for a short dream and a pleasant awakening were dashed, however, as the procedure began and Roka began talking to him. "Hey, don't fall asleep on me here." She said with a kind, but slightly serious smile, moving her hands according to her techniques, making the water surrounding Mako's forearm glow with a light blue hue, just visible beyond the natural light of the room. "I need you to talk to me about how you feel." She instructed, but after receiving the feedback of "It feels good." and "It already feels much better" she shook her head slightly. He knew he would not get any sleep at this point. "Sorry, Mako, but I cannot let you fall asleep now either.I need you to talk and give me any feedback you think is appropriate. If it hurts more, if it hurts less, if it stops hurting altogether, or even if it feels as if your arm is being ripped off at your elbow, you have to keep focused." She said, continuing to move her hands according to the technique and with a sigh, Mako nodded, trusting her with the treatment of his injury.

He kept speaking, keeping up casual conversation, but it was mostly her telling him about whatever thing he asked her concerning his experiences with the Northern Water Tribe. She explained the city's layout well, told him about nice attractions he could see while spending his time in the city and also gave him directions to a nearby market that, according to her, was world-renowned for it's fish. And from time to time, she asked him about how he felt, expecting some words, if he hadn't given her any in some time.

They kept talking about some normal topics, the detective's mind feeling much calmer than before he arrived. Either it was because of the nice, cold feeling of water against his arm that did it or it was the much-needed opportunity for small talk, he didn't care. All that mattered was that he felt nice in this situation, finally.

After about an hour of this, she told him they were done for now. The pain should be gone or lessened to a bearable level for now, she told him and also explained when and how he should come by next time. The next day, in the morning, after an early breakfast. That way, they could begin the treatment soon and either take longer if necessary or end it sooner and free up more of their time.

She smiled, seeing him nod and with a swift motion, directed the water away from his arm, seemingly completely drying it in the process, then put some bandages on the scars, after leading the liquid into the vial again. He flexed his fingers and moved his wrist slightly, finding that the pain, if not gone completely, was at least slightly subdued for a time. Until the next treatment, he hoped. But as he stood up, the elderly woman's words hit his ear.

"I also recommend you seek something to do while here." She said, tidying up her equipment and drawing the water back into the vial it came from, putting it's cap back on and gently putting it back in it's rightful place. "Time flows quicker if one occupies themselves. And in your case, time doesn't seem to be a good thing to have an abundance of." She spoke, looking thoughtfully at Mako, but then smiled softly once more, returning to her own work. "I hope your day goes well. If anything unexpected happens, like sharp pain or others, come to me immediately."

"Alright. I'll do my best to find something." He said, looking at his bandaged arm once again, before thanking her the treatment and the talk, while walking out through the door, closing it behind himself. This would be long, sure, but it would be worth it.

Looking around and seeing that it was still early to go to the place he would stay at, Mako decided to take a long walk, not only to kill time until he felt like resting a bit. Turning left at the end of the road, he headed in the direction of the "main street." Or at least the wider road in the middle of the inner level of the city he thought looked like something most people would call "Main Street" in other lands.

Looking around, he took in the crowded streets of the city, people rushing from point A to point B, reminding him of his current home in the heart of the Republic. Interestingly, with all the differences between that nation and the Water Tribe, this city still looked quite similar to that. 'Four nations, but one people' as the old saying goes. Never before clearer to him than now. The market bustling with people trying to buy or sell something, guards patrolling on some streets, while others were completely free, a few children playing, having snowball fights. He guessed that was easy to have an abundance of, as his eyes continued to observe the area. He was on vacation right now and this city was so interesting, unique to him, so why not enjoy the view? The sights of people making their way to their destination in ways so different, yet so similar to how they did it in Republic City. Two children building a snowman by bending water at it and quickly freezing the liquid as soon as it hit the surface of the already forming sculpture. Beside them, a grown woman doing the same, except she did it so that the sculpture took on strange, otherworldly shapes, growing spikes from each of its parts, but using the same technique none the less. The crowd filed around two street artists, the man in the grey outfit on one of the rooftops, the funny, almost brawl-like argument breaking out at one of the shops over who gets to have the next sale, the-wait, what?

Man in grey on one of the rooftops?!

Darting his eyes back to where he originally saw the figure and soon enough, on another roof, Mako spotted a rather strange individual. He wore a grey jacket that seemed to reach to his ankles, though in his crouched position, it was hard to tell, really. He seemed to wear a similar grey colored outfit underneath, but something with gloves and tight pants, as well as boots included, in order to keep out the cold, most likely. His face was hidden by a wide hat and the upturned collars of his jacket, which covered his entire head. From what the firebender could see, the man had a clear direction in where he was going, but the way in which he was doing it made Mako suspect he wasn't just trying to cut through the crowd by using the roof. He decided to follow, keeping his eyes on the nimble man, while also doing his best to blend into the crowd and not make it apparent that he spotted the other. Maybe it was something harmless, but taking care when unnecessary was better than to be careless, when the situation would call for preparation.

Soon, the strange figure stopped and waited, as if he just spotted what he was after, prompting Mako to look around in search of what it really was he sought by climbing to the roof. The crowd was still thick and without seeing his eyes, he couldn't very well pinpoint where he was looking, but taking guesses, Mako supposed he would just have to look and wait, see if anything strange or relevant happens.

Then suddenly, he saw the man stand up and move his arms in a way he never saw before. Observing, it reminded him of one of Tenzin's basic airbending techniques, but it was slightly different. The movement was far more focused, seemingly more based on following a pattern that centered around the upper body, than the freedom of the entire man, involving his entire being in his bending. Also, though he saw the movements, but he didn't see anything move around him. As if he was a non-bender attempting to practice bending despite the odds. Hm. Maybe this place simply had more interesting crazies than he thought. Slowly turning, he began heading towards one of the shops, figuring that he might as well see if some food was on sale for tonight. But he did not make it as far as the first stall, when a strange, almost unbearable reached him, as if someone stabbed him in the ear with a pin, while screaming at the top of their lungs. Shortly after, a shout of terror came, probably from a woman, somewhere behind him in the crowd, making him turn around in an instant.

Spinning around, he saw a commotion around some people in the crowd, a small space vacated of any part of the populus, except, as he saw, a group of about three. Then his eyes went to the roof, already suspecting who was behind the event that just transpired, whatever they were.

And he was right, the man he previously observed acting strange on the roof now held a pose more akin to someone shooting someone else with a blast of whatever he just bend, arm held out in a straight line towards the crowd, while the other was readying another shot, though he didn't recognize what. Acting on instinct alone, Mako pushed himself through the cowering people, readying himself to take on this mysterious attacker. The deed alone made him sick, if he thought about it. Attacking random people in the brightest hour of the day. Defenseless civilians, just minding their business. Only cowards would do things like that. Pushing by two people and he got into the open, closer to the group of three he saw targeted, one of them a guard, standing before the other two to shield them, with his body, if he needed to, it seems. Mako only got more motivated to take the man on the roof down and ask him what he was doing. Leaping through the air, he used his right hand alone, knowing it would be less accurate, but if anything, he would misdirect the man's next shot to save the innocents from harm, he lobbed a smaller shot of fire in the direction of the grey-suited person, aiming at his arm.

But he missed.

The shot hit the protruding ice decoration directly next to the man, fortunately distracting him enough to draw the shot away from a direct hit to grazing the guard's shoulder. As some other waterbender soldiers rushed through the crowd, getting to the scene, the grey cloaked man noticeably tilted his head in Mako's direction, quickly changing targets and aiming at him. The detective leapt through the air, expecting a shot of air to brush past him as the madman aimed, before he could counterattack. But that was not what he got.

Instead, the scream of a banshee left the cloaked man's mouth, seemingly, a sound so terrifying, it chilled Mako to the bone in a moment. He half expected a spirit or some kind of monster emerging from beneath the coat of grey, as no human would be able to let out such a shout, no matter who. Then came the hit. It was likewise unexpected. He fought some airbenders for training before, so he was quite familiar with how it felt to have someone airbend some wind against you. It wasn't as strong as taking a direct shot from an earthbender, but based on the strength, it was easy to deal damage with it. However, this shot was something else. He felt as if someone froze him in a moment, his bones themselves feeling as if they wanted to break into tiny pieces from some curious outside force or another. Turning slowly around, he saw the man lightly touching the rim of his hat, as if saluting the failed attempt at heroism, before disappearing, dodging the shots of water the guards bent at him.

Mako felt as if the scars on his left forearm extended to the entirety of his body, wrecking his form in pain. Some people in his immediate surroundings seemed to notice, but they merely observed, as the young man fell to his knees and then slumped into the snow, unable to move his body more, than slight twitches of the muscles the pain caused him. His head turned to the side, he could see through his blurry vision slightly, spotting a person in a long coat walking towards him, just as the darkness was taking over his mind. Whatever he was hit with, it did enough damage to knock him out in one hit and make him feel worse than if a huge stampede of animals trampled his body one by one. The last thing he saw before closing his eyes finally, was the blue fabric of the same long, blue coat, as the person stood before him.

And then the darkness took his mind, slipping him into unconsciousness.


	4. Strange 'New' Friend

Author's notes: Hello and welcome to my story once more. I hope you are enjoying it, as I certainly do enjoy writing it. We have left it on a bit of a sour note last time, but I hope you are ready for the continuation. We have only just begun this tale of adventure. It will be my longest work yet, but I hope it shall not bore you to death by the end of it. Still, I thank my good friend, Rassilon for his cooperation and thank you all for reading, truly making my artwork what it is, instead of just a bunch of letters on the screen. Now, as I always say, ON WITH THE STORY!

Disclaimer: Oh, also, YOUR MOM owns the Avatar series. If your mom is the head of Nickelodeon. In that case, she does. What was I talking about again? Oh, yeah, I do not own anything that is copyrighted. I only own this specific story idea and my original characters, who appear sometimes, but not all that much, depending on the story I write.

* * *

The _dark_.

That was the one thing welcoming Mako. In his unconscious mind, he only saw the darkness that stretched out infinitely before him, blocking all sight, as if he was staring into a sack wrapped around his head, no matter where he turned. Like the deepest, darkest nights in Republic City, but there was no comforting hue of street lamps and houses around him, only the cold, lonely abyss hogging his vision from anything else.

Mako's mind did what he could. In the darkness, he figured he could do nothing else, but recount what happened until he was awoken again.

That terrible screech he heard. It was like a wild animal's dying scream, as it died. And that man. His brain made the connection that he was most likely an airbender, albeit a strange one, but then why did he do the things he did? Who was he?

 _That mask._

From his appearance, behavior and possible "target" the detective didn't guess for any ordinary member of the public. "Maybe the Water Tribe has some unique crazies." He ran that sentence back in his head a few times, even though he never said it out loud. Well, it seemed he might have just found a crazy person more unique and most likely more dangerous, than all the rest.

And now he was lost in a dark abyss, where his mind couldn't get out of. He kept re-watching the events of the last day, as if it was another one of Varrick's bogus 'movers.' Except Bolin wasn't in it. No, instead, there was a pleasant day, with some pain in his arm. Then, that terrifying man. He heard the screech, saw the man move, then…

…felt the pain again.

* * *

With a yell of pain, Mako bolted awake, both hands reaching for his head. He had to get away from the man, evade his shot. He failed last time, but he wouldn't-…wait.

Where was he again?

Looking around, the detective noticed he was in a room, sitting on a bed made of some soft material or another, still wearing his usual clothes, except for his boots and jacket, which were near the bed on the ground and on a small shelf, neatly folded. Taking another look, he noted how nice the decoration looked in this room, considering the kind of home it was. It wasn't anything special compared to what he saw in other places, but it was nice enough to draw his mind away from the nightmare he saw before. His arm was slightly hurting, but it was nothing new, so he discarded the thoughts concerning it. But taking another look, he began to grow wary yet again, as the room didn't look anything like any healer's shop or anything else he would have thought his unconscious body would have been taken in a situation like this.

"Are you alright, sir?" He almost bolted out of the bed, as suddenly right behind him, he heard a woman's soft voice, while his brain still couldn't process the information this new circumstance was giving him. Just where was he? And who was that woman, who just spoke? And since when was _she_ in here with him? Luckily, he managed to wrestle his initial surprise and slight shock into submission and turned slowly around, holding his head slightly, wiping his eyes a little.

Her brown hair was in a tight bun, very simple, but supposedly required for such a job. Her outfit looked fancy, but nothing too elegant. What was expected of a maid, of course. Her brown eyes sparkled slightly, bearing a tone slightly deeper than her skin, but not by much.

"Uh, yes, thank you." He said, deciding to first inform her that he was doing well. She was asking about his wellbeing, after all. And she sounded sincere, so he didn't see any harm in answering her. "But…just where am I?" He added after a moment and a sigh, noticing the slight smile on her face, as she almost proudly proclaimed.

"You are in the home of my lady. You saved her life, when you intercepted that attacker and thus, she wishes to express her gratitude towards you, good sir." The woman said, bowing her head during the word "lady" as it rolled off her tongue. "As she is chief of this land, you did a great service not just to her, but to her people as well by saving her life. Thus, she is ever so grateful to you."

Mako nodded slightly, wondering just who she might have saved. Not that it mattered, but if the woman she saved really was who this maid declared her, that attack was strangely suspicious. He never would have guessed there were attempts at the North's leader's life, but considering what his own city went through, he could've said it was nothing new.

"Tell your lady, I'm happy I could help." He said, stretching his arms and shoulders slightly, before pulling the covers off of his body in order to get out of bed and put on his missing articles of clothing. By the looks of it, he slept through the rest of the day and the night after that attack, as he currently saw the sun rising over the icy mountains in the distance. As he began to pull his boots on, he thought some more about the attack. Why would this random stranger attack someone so high on the social ladder? Maybe an anarchist? Possibly, but he had no idea about it. Regardless, it wasn't his duty to intervene. All he came here for was to get healed and then go home, not to meddle in the business of-wait, who did the maid say she saved the life of?

"Uh, sorry, but what did you say, who was your lady?" He questioned, slight dread sitting on his heart. No, his suspicions couldn't be right. But if they were, he guessed he might be in for a bit of pain, at least in the near future. 'Damn, I came here to get some medical help anyways, not to get into this mess.'

"Why, she is Lady Eska of the Water Tribe. The glorious chief of our nation, former Tribal Princess of the Northern Water Tribe and sister to Lord Desna, the other glorious chief," she happily and somewhat proudly explained, making a chill run down the firebender's spine. So his suspicion _was_ right after all. Well, he saved her life, so hopefully, she would not force him into any awkward situations based on sadness of the past. He hasn't even seen her since her last brief meeting with Bolin. And despite him personally not thinking much of her, he did know what happened between the Princess of the North and his brother well enough to be slightly scared of this woman.

"I see. Well, tell her it was nothing. I just did what I had to," Mako finally uttered after a long pause of contemplating his thoughts and what he should say. As he pulled on his boots and stood up, pulling on his jacket as well, however, the maid continued speaking.

"Oh, but you can tell her yourself. She requested that when you wake up, she would have a personal audience with her savior." She said nonchalantly, obviously unaware of the less than pleasant relationship he and the chief enjoyed with each other. He would have to decline politely, as he had an appointment of sorts with Roka anyways. It wasn't like he was outright avoiding Eska's presence because of his bad memories. Well, it was only half of the reason.

"Oh, I see. Sorry, but I cannot stay. I must be going somewhere." He responded, trying to sound as polite as possible, while also remaining quite headstrong about it, knowing all too well how the lack of that can let this end up. Even though he wasn't walking the same path, but still. Better safe than fed to dolphin-piranhas.

"I'm sorry, but my lady insisted that she expresses her gratitude to you. You saved her life, after all." The maid said apologetically, walking to the door and opening it, motioning for the detective to follow. He reluctantly did, figuring if she really just wanted to say thanks for his lifesaving miss, that couldn't hurt. The woman led him through the elegantly decorated interior, eventually reaching a larger room, which looked like a normal dining room, except everything was formed of ice, like an over-enthusiastic artistic project. Though, in this climate, Mako had to admit, it was quite resourceful to build like this, actually.

"Presenting, the honorable Detective Mako of Republic City," The maid announced, sounding once again unwarrantedly proud, as she gestured towards Mako and then bowed, leaving the room, while Mako gaze ran slightly around the large dining area, noticing the generous decoration of the walls and the large glass windows on one side, as well as the long table, with enough chairs to accommodate his entire extended family. Stuffed with delicious looking foods, the likes of which he spotted at Asami's banquets sometimes. And of course, the only single occupant sitting across from him. He remembered her quite well.

That perfectly symmetric, straight hairstyle, that tanned skin, those icy, blue eyes. And that perfectly calm expression. Wearing nothing, but apathy and a slight disgust for everything in the world, if he was honest.

This was going to be strange.

"Welcome, detective." She said, her voice calm and slightly monotone, suiting her expressionless face. "Please, sit."

"No thanks, I'll stand," Mako politely declined the offered seat.

If she was offended by his refusal of her offer, it wasn't obvious. "I suppose I owe you praise for saving my existence from that beast. That is why I decided to speak with you personally." Eska said calmly, once more showing no emotion and falling strangely silent at the end of her monologue, staring at him with the same sense of apathy he was used to by now.

"It was nothing." He replied. Regardless of what he thought of Eska or the other way around, he saved her life from an attacker and that was important.

After a few moments of her digesting his response, she continued. "I suppose a reward should be in order for you," she said, eyes leaving her breakfast and focusing on him instead.

"It's not necessary." He said.

That caught her attention. She focused her eyes more intently on him now, as if wishing to study his visage for the first time. Like water stirring below the frozen surface, her gaze seemed to hold something behind it, as her icy blue orbs kept staring at his.

She slowly rose from her seat, approaching him slowly. Despite being almost a foot shorter than Mako, the aura she emanated, as well as the voluminous nature of her coat, made it seem like she was looming over him, as she looked into his eyes, studying him. "…I do not understand, why did you get involved if you held no hope for rewards?"

"It's my job." He gave a quick response, then decided to elaborate as he noticed her curious glance. "It doesn't matter if I'm on duty or not, I'm still a cop."

"I see…interesting."

Suddenly, an idea sparked in his head, as they both fell silent. Gathering some courage, he asked her. "Yes, so, what did that guy want anyways? It didn't look like some random mugging to me. More like an assassination attempt. And in broad daylight too."

"It is nothing important." She responded quickly, quite evasively as he noticed, eyes leaving his and flicking to the side. Given the amount of shady people he already met during his time as a detective, this kind of tactic was easy for Mako to see through. She was lying.

"Nothing? People don't just attack others from rooftops in broad daylight because of nothing. Really, he seemed to want something. Or _someone._ " He spoke, putting a hand to his mouth in thought. It would be hard to convince her to give information, given the kind of person she was, but the way she evaded the question sparked his curiosity.

"Irrational people do a lot of irrational things, detective. I appreciate your concern, but this is none of your business." Eska's voice sounded more serious, if anything, bordering dismissal on his part. As if she was edging towards entirely dismissing the issue, but also hesitating.

"Yes, but this man wanted something. I saw it. He went for you specifically and I don't know what for, but aimed specifically at you and your men. Even before the whole thing took place, he was on the rooftops, so it wasn't just some random act of violence, this was planned." He reasoned on, raising an eyebrow. She was obviously hiding something, though he did not know exactly what, but it must have been something dark if she was behaving this way about it.

"There might be some, who oppose our reign with Desna. That means little beyond the fact, that our political surroundings suffer a divide not yet solved. Have people not tried to demolish the government of your nation on more than one occasion, resorting to planned violence and scheming?" She asked, that icy blue stare now returned to his own, looking like it wanted to punch a hole into his, so he would stop asking questions on and on.

"You forget that those happened behind the scenes, at night and most of all, in secret. This kind of recklessness to try something like this in broad daylight requires either insanity, which is doubtful, as the attacker acted calm and collected even under fire, or a bigger plan behind it, which suggests either more attacks like this or something else you are not telling me. Even Varrick's insane plan against your father would have been executed at night, without public notice, not to mention, dozens of witnesses." He continued, his voice raising and his tone changing to a more analytical one, than usual. It might have been considered disrespectful towards a chief, but he couldn't do anything, but demolish her arguments, through the small cracks that he immediately noticed. She was a good liar, mostly because of her usual lack of emotion anyways, but this situation clearly caused her some agitation, making her words easier targets to pick apart. However, her next reaction was unexpected.

"That is quite enough," She snapped at him, voice louder, yet still relatively calm. "I will not tolerate this insolence from a detective of Republic City in my own land. The matters of the Northern Water Tribe are dealt with by me, Desna and the authorities, of which you are not a member. I owe you no information regarding this matter."

Mako felt shocked. She didn't sound that angry compared to other people he got an outburst from before, but coming from her, this meant she was both angry and that he was getting closer to the truth. Just to press a little more. "Sorry, but I want to help. A man like this walking freely is very dangerous."

"I am aware of that."

"Then please, tell me what is going on. What the Hell happened yesterday?"

She fell silent and seemed to struggle between two ways to respond. Though it did not seem like much, he has seen her enough times before to notice small things that related to anger and frustration. The wall of ice cracked, now he just had to wait for it to collapse. Just a few moments. Sighing, she finally nodded slightly and looked him in the eye once again.

"There have been a series of fatalities against people of my nation. That is what I am concerned about. This might be connected to that." She said, her voice as serious as he has ever seen her. No hint of apathy or sarcasm anymore, just the audible knowledge of the severity her situation bore. He knew there was something, but this surprised him. Another dose of curiosity for him.

"What did the…police…uncover?" He asked instinctively, momentarily forgetting that he was _out of his element_ , to say the least, at this point. "Any witnesses? Or leads, maybe?" He asked on, figuring that something this important to the police force, if there was one, would warrant her direct attention.

"None so far. And the guards we have employed are witless in terms of detective skills. It will take time." She said, confirming his suspicions. It wasn't a good feeling to be just sitting here, as if she could do nothing in the matter. She was chief, after all, she couldn't just go and look for this criminal. She had more important duties, which he guessed the…'guards'…had their jobs. Though they did not deserve them, taking from her words. A thought was clawing away at his brain, which he tried repressing, but his conscience got the better of him. Screw his vacation and screw his hand. He couldn't just sit idly and watch this happen, as people were killed out there.

"Well, you could employ me, maybe." He suggested, looking into her icy stare and for once, not feeling any fear. She needed help, so he was, though slightly worried about this ending up to be bigger than what he could chew, but more or less ready to help. "As a temporary detective. Maybe for consultation only."

"What do you suggest exactly?" She asked, tilting her head slightly to the side, curiously studying him. He could also see the cogs turning in her head, almost. She was obviously considering his proposal, just unsure whether or not she should trust him with this.

"I'm experienced in murder cases and have learned a lot from working with Lin back in Republic City. I could help you out with the case, but I would need some access to evidence the guards have found, as well as the information regarding certain people, who might be suspects."

A slow nod was all the response he received now, as Eska remained silent, staring at him intently, as if trying to see into his brain through his eyes.

"Fair enough. That sounds adequate." She said, but then held up a finger. "But I need to come along on the investigation." To Mako's shocked expression, she simply answered, "So I can observe your work, of course. This delicate matter requires my involvement as well."

"I'd suggest something else." He responded with another sigh. "Since you got attacked, I assume you are a target too. Or at least were this time. We don't know, though, so it would be best if you stayed here, in a safe place and allowed me to go out and investigate. I will share my findings with you of course." He offered, looking into her eyes still, able to stand her icy gaze now.

"Fair enough." Her response came after a long pause for thinking. "But I expect daily reports from you, if that is the case. In fact, I would recommend you moving your current residence to the guest room of my abode for closer contact and an easier way to consult." She spoke. At first, he wanted to refuse, but at this point, he figured it would be logical. And the room he was given in her home while he was unconscious from that attack was more comfortable than the one he got on his own either way, so he didn't have much to lose.

"Alright. Guess that's settled, then. So, where do we begin?"

Eska was about to respond, when the door was opened and as both people turned, her brother, Desna, walked in, two guards on his side. As it was visible with his also apathetic demeanor, he looked like he was in a hurry to talk with his sister. Though, his eyes visibly sparked slightly, as he noticed Mako's presence in the room. Apathy remained in his gaze, but the firebender had to notice something else too. Distrust, maybe? Perhaps.

"Apologies, sister, but I require your assistance in an important matter." He said, sounding slightly less apathetic and more straight up bored with his surroundings. Her response was a short nod, nothing else, as well as a gesture of her hand, to which Desna bowed and left the room with his guards for a short while. Eska turned back to Mako, her eyes never leaving him, which made the detective slightly uncomfortable.

"Give this to the chief of the guards, when you deem it necessary. He will assist you in any matter you wish him to. Now depart, please. I require time to help my brother." She spoke, handing him a piece of metal with rich engravings. Mako would have guessed it to be some kind of antique, if it didn't bear specific symbols of the water tribe on it, suggesting it was an official seal. Nodding, the firebender left Eska's residence, leaving the woman to do as she needed, knowing full well where he needed to go right now, suggested even more by the slight stinging in his left hand.


	5. The Investigation Begins

Author's notes: Hello and welcome back! Hope you enjoy this chapter, as you did the previous ones and read and review as you'd like. On with the story, as I always say!

Disclaimer: Yadda yadda yadda, you know where I'm going with this, just move on and read the story about characters, themes and whatnot I totally don't own and some that I do. Thank you.

* * *

After another hour or two of sitting at Roka and chatting idly with her as she did her work on his arm, Mako was finally out on the street again and was taking the short walk towards the place he heard was where the city's guards had their barracks and which he supposed counted as a 'police station' of sorts for the water tribe, so he guessed they could give him the evidence they collected on this case there. Meanwhile, he thought things over slightly. What he would do, what he could do, to help these people. Well, whatever he did, he would have to figure it out quickly.

The barracks was a slight disappointment, as the head guard said he gladly helped the firebender detective, but also regrettably informed him that collecting all of the evidence and organizing them into one bunch, so he could come and take a look, would take some time, so meanwhile, he offered the only evidence he had at the moment for Mako, which was an older place, a kind of pub that was forcefully opened after the end of the great war and the general influx of people from other nations, some of whom demanded that a regular drinking place be opened for them. And the head guard mentioned, that somebody has seen this mystery person enter and exit some days, maybe weeks ago. Though it was a small lead, if the eyewitness was correct, Mako really had no better choice, but to enter and ask the people, who ran the place, if they have seen anything.

And so he did. Opening the wooden door, he entered the bar, which, he had to admit, looked slightly better, than most of the triad places he's seen during his time as a detective. Looking around as he stood in the doorway, he saw unfriendly eyes staring at him. The place was mostly empty, but he saw some faces and characters he immediately recognized as the "bad side" of the North, most likely. One man, most likely a firebender, was sitting in the corner, with a big bottle of whatever drink he ordered, with a small crew surrounding him. One of his hands was playing with a tiny dragon formed completely out of fire, as if the creature was his pet. On the other side, Mako spotted several people, who seemed to form a similar group, sitting around one big table, chatting among each other, only stopping to look at the newcomer. Some others were sitting near the bar, but they didn't stand out as much to him. Making his way quickly over to the bartender, sat down and waited for the man to pay attention to him.

"Wha' can ah give ya, stranger?" The man asked, looking at Mako with his one eye, the other covered by an eyepatch. He didn't look friendly, but the detective guessed he'd have to deal with this in order to take any steps in the direction of the solution.

"I'm looking for someone, could you help me?" He asked, looking over his left shoulder as if expecting to see that big hat or the grey coat somewhere. Of course, the person in question was nowhere to be seen. Neither him or his clothes. Only some of the patrons, seemingly more and more unfriendly by the seconds.

"Well, sure, mate. 'slong as ya can gimme somethin' that' uh…'distinct' about this friend of yers." The bartender responded, raising an eyebrow, obviously not having received this question in a while. "So, who are ya lookin' fer?"

"I do not know the name, but is there anyone you know, who was here in the last few days and wore a long grey coat, with a big hat? The type that sticks out of the crowd." Mako responded, seeing the unfriendly looks become effectively menacing in a single moment. He was treading on thin ice, but that meant, that the fish were only one wrong step away from being discovered. He just had to survive the potential dump in the icy waters. Literally, if those stares were anything to go by.

The bartender thought for a bit, putting a hand to his mouth. The detective took this time to adjust his sitting slightly, so he was in a half-sideways position to the bar and the patrons, in case they decided to get a bit too personal. Some of them definitely looked like they did not like his questioning. One outright approached him, bearing what he deduced to be quite the hostile facial expression.

He had a definite opportunity to catch Mako off guard and take a good shot at him, if he wanted, at least the firebender assumed that was his plan…

…

But he merely leant against the bar counter and asked for a couple of drinks. False alarm, then. While the bartender gave him a bottle and accepted the money, he continued pondering, then after he was done, snapped his fingers.

"Oh, I know who ya might mean. There was so-" Suddenly, a loud voice interrupted him, and the sound of a chair being pushed back could be heard. Turning, Mako saw the firebender, who was previously playing with his 'pet' now out of his seat and eyeing the two in a manner that was decidedly malicious. "He don' know nothin' about the fella yer lookin' for, stranger. Don' even bother. Ain't worth it." He declared, taking a few steps closer. "And I'd be careful askin' about random people in this town, if I were ye." He added, moving even closer, reaching about arm's length to the younger man. Some other people began to move behind him, some watching the dialogue from afar, while others moving closer to get front row seats. Some shot the same hostile looks at him. Not good. But if this led him to information, then the pain he shall take with a smile. Except, Roka would kill him afterwards, but everything in it's own time.

"Why? Do you have something better about this individual?" He decided to ask, not feeling afraid of the person directly in front of him now, bearing down upon him in a way that was surely intended to be menacing. "I would appreciate if you could tell me something."

"I won' give ye bollocks. But if ye ask about 'im one more time, I can give ya somethin' ye can put in yer pocket." The ringleader of this suddenly formed mob told him, most others visibly agreeing, nodding their heads and muttering under their breath. Some, Mako heard, even said "Creepy bastard." He wasn't sure if he heard it right. Or who it was aimed at. The target of his search, the man in front of him, or himself.

"I don't want any trouble, guys." He said, turning towards the other in his seat, looking him in the eye finally. "I just want to find this guy and talk to him a bit. Just a small chat. You can stop hiding hi-"

Mako's words were cut short, as a fist decided it wanted to be introduced to his face and a punch came with almost unavoidable speed, with the detective able to raise his right arm in the last second, blocking the hit and leaping from his seat, dodging out of the way of another hit, aimed at his forehead. "Okay, hold on, guys. No need to get jumpy."

"Jumpy? Oh, we ain't jumpy. But we don't like darn strangers comin' and askin' about good people in our town." Another man, wearing a short blue jacket and baggy blue pants, said, pulling out a knife from a sheath in his belt. "Right, guys?" The rest responded with a cheer. Some others were visibly readying themselves for a fight, some even pulling out weaponry from their pockets or belts. One man ran for the door, decidedly not part of whatever little community this was.

"Oh, come on." Were Mako's only words, before the leader lunged at him with a lightning quick attack, strengthening his punch with a fireball wrapped around his hand, aiming at the detective's chest, forcing him to evade and dodge. His right forearm began hurting again, as he had to put some effort into this. Even with the icy environment having mostly weakened their firebending, this guy seemed like a dangerous opponent to have. Dodging a few more shots, Mako finally retaliated with a small, heated blast to the face, using only his right arm to direct the fireball elegantly against his opponent's face, leaving him to stagger back into a table, prompting some others to decide it was their time to attack.

A few attempts to stab or slash and lots more punches and kicks followed, with Mako able to dodge or deflect most of them, but he had to end this fight quickly, or he knew the force of the mob would tear him to pieces. Leaping over a table, he kicked a man in the chest, sending him to the floor, before turning and slamming his clenched fist right into the jaw of the other one, following his leap of faith over the table. However, soon, a hit landed against his left shoulder and it felt as if a nail was hammered into his arm. Then another, this time, a stray shot of bent water managed to graze his wrist. It didn't do any major damage, but the simple touch, not to mention, the agitated wound, was enough to send Mako's mind into a world of pain.

He couldn't dodge from the next punch…

It sent him to the floor, gasping for air and one hand clenching the other forearm, pain eating away at it, like white hot flames. The crooks stood over him, looking down. The ringleader of the bunch crouched, one of his lackeys handing him a short dagger. "Sorry, fella. This ain't personal. We don' wanna kill ya, but ye jus' kept askin' too many questions. Shoulda kept your mouth shot, eh?"

He raised the blade to stab…

'Well, at least I could say I died "in the line of duty" even if it happened on vacation' were Mako's final thoughts, as he awaited the next shot of pain.

But it never came…

Strangely, everything fell silent. Only the sound of water flowing could be heard. Wait. Water? Flowing? Here?

Looking up, he spotted the leader grasping at his throat, held up in the air in a vicious lock on his neck, made of ice and held by a strange figure in a long, brown robe and hood, who bent the water in order to keep their victim hostage.

That was…new…

"What are ye lookin' at, idiots! Get 'em!" the leader choked through the hold on his breath, at which order the group now changed tactics. One half began advancing towards the newcomer, while a few others remained at the injured one. New chance, then. The detective could only hope the stranger wasn't coming for him after the rest was done.

Kicking up from his position, he hit one man in the stomach, launching himself to his feet with the momentum and sending a small shot of fire into someone else's face, blinding them momentarily. Taking up a fighting stance that made it more comfortable to fight one-handed, Mako joined the hooded person, hoping that his assumptions were correct. Indeed, it seemed that they were here to help, as the person nodded at him and took up a stance of their own, tossing the leader against a table and readying several globes of water to use against their opponents.

Oh, this just got interesting.

* * *

About a good minute of brawling later and Mako kicked his final opponent in the face, sending him to the ground, as well as a good bunch of saliva into the air as he fell back. No other enemies remained, he noted, as his new ally just got done smacking their final target over the head with a block of ice. Suddenly, all seemed so silent. Not even a peep. Just the moaning of the still conscious and injured ringleader, who was clutching his head and stomach, having taken quite the beating.

"Well, I'm not sure what just happened, but…thanks. I owe you one." The detective said to his companion, looking the stranger over. To his surprise and slight horror, however, what he heard next sounded quite familiar.

"You are welcome." Came Eska's voice from under the brown hood, as the stranger removed her hood and cloak, in order to reveal none other, than the chief of the North herself. Well, one of two chiefs. Mako's eyes widened and his mouth slightly opened. He almost didn't hear her continue her speech from the surprise, shock and slight disbelief in the current events. "This hopefully was a satisfactory adventure, that helps us lead the case further. I do despise wasting my time with witless fools and then gain nothing in compensation." She spoke, as if what the two of them went through was a daily occurrence.

"Wait, what? How did you-how were you-what happened?!" Mako asked, almost shouting at the woman, his face completely distorted by anger and disbelief. "What are you doing here? I told you it was dangerous! And how did you know where I was?!"

"Do not instruct me on what I am and am not able to do, detective. And it was simple. I followed you as you went about your duties. However, as I saw you were being attacked and beaten quite too soon, I decided to intervene." She responded, her voice still calm and apathetic. As if what the two of them just did together was nothing. "Now, could we resume work on the investigation?"

Looking to the side, the firebender spotted the only still conscious member of the previous opposing field. He approached the battered man, while the bartender cowered behind the counter, fearing for his own life the entire time, even now.

"Alright, buddy. Spit it out, who is this guy?" Mako asked the man, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket. "Tell me and this will be the end of it." He instructed, anger taking up a dominant space in his gaze once more. "And I'll forget the attempted murder of an officer of the law this once."

"I ain't tellin' ya shit. Ya can kill me, but ya won't get anythin' outta me!" He told the two instead, almost spitting more than speaking.

"Are you sure we can't…well…I mean, what's so bad about that gu-" The bartender tried to reason, before he was cut off again.

"Ya shut yer bloody mouth, ya idiot! If Songtan fin's out we told anyone, he's gonna kill us all!" The bloodied man blurted out, before clamping a hand to his mouth and muttering what sounded strangely similar to the word 'Dammit!' underneath.

"Songtan? Who is this? Explain." The young man told him, a small amount of fire circling his right hand, ready to burn if needed. Behind him, Eska readied her own element, long tendrils of water reaching from her hands, forming vicious elements of pain. Seeing all this, their _interrogatee_ finally broke and began, half sobbing, half screaming.

"Stop it, we don' know nothin' okay? Only a name, I swear! Some creepy basterd came in the otha' day, asked for a drink. I asked who he was and he proceeded ta tear up the place after that idiot behind the counta' ran out for somethin'. He told us he was called Songtan and if we told anyone and he'd hear of it, he'd come back and kill us all. He also told us ta scare or 'disappear' anyone stupid enough ta ask about his name or a dude like 'im! Please, I'm beggin' ya! I don' wan' me or my guys dyin'." He begged, looking so miserable, even Mako had to admit, his position was, while vicious, quite sad and somewhat understandable. Pitiful, even.

"That can be arranged without him being involved." Eska answered, stepping closer with her weaponry, dangerously close to the man. Mako stood up and blocked her way, holding both of his arms out.

"Hold on, now. He had enough. Leave him be. We'll have to start on this name, then. Probably a nickname or a fake identity, but this is as much as we have now." He told her, earning a slow and obviously reluctant nod from the chief of the North.

"Fair enough. I shall not destroy these foul men, then. I have grown tired of this location, though. I desire to go home." She spoke, not even asking for confirmation from her 'partner' but walking out of the beaten up establishment, Mako following shortly, after tossing a few coins onto the counter and adding "Sorry for the mess." on his way out.

Outside, the young man ran to catch up with Eska, grabbing her right shoulder gently. "Hey, hey, what was that all about?" He asked, looking into her eyes. Still, no emotion was present.

"I have grown tired of doing little other than sitting in my throne and listening to people's woes. I decided to take matters into my own hands, whether you approve of it or not." Was her simple response.

"That's not a good idea. What if you were hurt? This isn't a game, Eska."

"I am not hurt, if you remember." She spoke, seeming rather bored of life itself, if anything.

"Even so, that doesn't make it right for you to follow me around on something like this, especially with you being a target as well. Just…don't follow me from now on, okay?" Mako asked, deciding that he needed rest and probably an earlier visit to Roka the next day, seeing as his arm felt like it was held into a tank of hungry dolphin-piranhas and the fight tuckered him out like nothing else. His boots cracked against the snow of the ground, as he left the chief to her own devices, most likely going back to her residence as well, as she mentioned.

He really needed a rest.


	6. The First Lead

Author's notes: Greetings again, my lovelies… …uh…I don't actually have anything to say to you right now. Just enjoy the show, I think. Hope you did enjoy the last few chapters, as this is not even at the halfway to it. Have fun and rate if you liked it, as well as review, please. That stuff makes me happy. ON WITH THE STORY!

Disclaimer: They, who shall not be named, but who work for Nickelodeon, own the rights to the copyrighted characters, themes, as well as anything else in this thing. Other things are mine. Like Songtan, for example. Who is Songtan? Wait and see.

* * *

This was getting tiring. Fast.

The last few hours of his day have been spent with endless walking, going into homes and looking around, finding nothing that could make for a good lead on the case. Several victims had connections to something, but then others didn't, so he had to abandon that trail. Overall, the last few hours have been spent doing everything he possibly could, but while also doing nothing of importance. As well as finding out that the security force was close to useless, when it came to criminal investigations, no matter how hard they worked on protecting people.

And now, as he sat at Roka's again, his hand once again licked and caressed by the gentle waves of water, he could barely muster the strength to keep talking to her. Thinking took up to much energy and focus right now. If he didn't find a way to follow the trail of corpses this Songtan character left in his wake, he could massacre the entire population without him finding the end of the line. And that pissed him off more, than any other criminal case in Republic City. So much, Roka noticed too.

„What's wrong? Something troubling you about your investigation?" She kindly asked, bending some more water to the upper portion of his forearm now, looking curiously at the firebender. "You can tell me. I'm not involved with anyone you could be looking for." She added, winking at him slightly. Well, if nothing else helped, maybe Mako could just tell her anyway. As much holes as this town's security had, he was sure the public knew of the appearance of criminals far before the guards in the first place.

"Well, it's not much. By which I mean nothing. I've found nothing yet. Spent a good hour looking for things in the collected evidence, but all that came up was what I already knew. That the serial killer wears a big grey coat and hat and he once went to a bar in town, doing something nobody can remember." He said, counting on his fingers. It annoyed him, honestly. Not just the fact that his detective skills were truly tested, but also, that he couldn't do anything, seemingly, for people, who depended on him. Seeing as the local guards knew as much about criminal cases as a fire ferret knew about the method with which Varrick made his movers, he seemed the most qualified person to solve this case. But this case, especially in this environment, where there were no familiarities to help like back in Republic City, seemed to be harder than it should be.

"You will eventually, if you ask me." Roka replied, a soft smile on her face. Mako guessed she usually talked like this to her patients, but who knew? At least somebody was optimistic about his situation. "But still, you just have to look closer. There's always a connection. What was the last lead you had before you got a dead end?"

"Well, about the only lead we had was that the killer went to a bar in town and did something there. Going there, I got some answers from the patrons, who gave me a name, but said they had nothing else. That's as far as I got. And after that, I spent my entire morning looking through the homes of the previous victims. Well, as many as I could. This guy was busy." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his free hand, grunting in slight frustration.

"Well, maybe he had something to do there. Maybe looking if someone had a connection to that place could help you?" She asked and he had to admit, she had a point. He could look for things that connected the victim he looked at to the bar in question. He felt out of options at this point. For a serial killer, as the guards informed him, the culprit had a wide array of targets. Or a very easy to flip switch.

"Alright. I'll look into it. Thanks." He said, returning the small smile to the healer, until she brushed some water over his pinky, which caused his visage to twist in pain slightly.

"Don't thank me. I'm just guessing, like you, at this point. Who knows what dark secrets the world could hide from us?" She mused, shaking her head sadly. And once more, she had a point.

* * *

Following her advice, Mako decided to look into things with a different perspective. If nothing came up, he would begin to look for things connecting the victim to the bar. If nothing else worked, of course.

He took a short walk from Roka's clinic to the nearest home Songtan made vacant in recent times and began thinking about what could have been going on here, that made such a person come here, let alone do what he was. It all seemed…weird, yet somehow fitting to him. Like a mismatched puzzle. He just had to connect the right pieces. Like always.

He was shocked, however, when his eyes spotted someone standing near the door he was looking for. His eyes immediately recognized her, though. That hairstyle, the makeup, even the icy and apathetic look she gave him upon seeing him get closer.

Just what was Eska doing here?

"Greetings, detective." She said, no hint of emotion in her voice. Just as usual. "I hope you had a pleasant morning. Shall we continue your investigation?" She asked, as if he did not tell her about half a day ago to stop following him on this investigation. "I am hopeful that helping you gets at least a few steps ahead in this case today."

"What are you even doing here? Didn't I tell you to leave me alone and let me work?" He asked in an irritated manner, really not wanting to go over this again. And how did she have time for all this? Was the political climate of the North that relaxed? Well, they did have a chief, but still, they supposedly had authority and responsibility over everything, so without a working chief, life would stop.

"I told you. I wish to assist you and thus be certain that you are doing an adequate job. As chief, I am required to have a personal involvement with a case this serious, thus I must join you." She reasoned, but Mako was more concerned about other things than her involvement in the case.

"I understand, but you are putting yourself out to danger as well. And I don't want that. I need to do this alone and I need you to go somewhere safe, while this whole thing dies down and I catch that maniac. Could you do that for me?"

"You require my help in ways you cannot fathom yet, detective." She responded, making the firebender raise an eyebrow in curiosity. Then wrinkle his forehead in slight anger yet again, as she added. "Without the approval of the chiefs, you are merely a citizen of a different nation breaking into homes uninvited and looking through people's belongings without their consent. Thus making _you_ a criminal, should you continue your search for this supposed murderer."

Mako was shocked. Was she serious with this? She would call him off and endanger even more people with such an action, if he didn't allow her to come with and possibly endanger herself during this investigation? Just because she wanted to get involved so bad? Sometimes, he really questioned Eska's sanity. Considering who was her father, though, the answer was not as surprising as he first thought.

"Fine. You can come along." He said through grit teeth. "But don't do anything careless, alright? I don't want you to get injured or worse because you were out here with me." He added, as they walked inside, looking around the recently deceased man's home.

Through the next few hours, Mako searched through the home and found some interesting things. First thing that became obvious to him was the makeshift darts board on the wall, with a newspaper cutting of Korra serving as the target. _Guess some people are still bitter about the whole spirits thing, huh?_ Then came some other interesting details. Still nothing that could tie the man to anything crime related or somehow, to the attack two days before, but they at least knew something now.

To say the former resident was bitter about Korra allowing the spirits to roam free was a slight misunderstanding. An Equalist flier was found under the bed, which suggested support of Amon's cause, if not outright involvement. _Stirring up trouble here, when you couldn't in Republic City? Maybe this led to your demise, then?_ The firebender asked, more to himself than anyone else, as he looked at the flier. If this guy really was an Equalist, maybe there was some type of conspiracy going on and his boogeyman was just a ruthless vigilante. But that didn't answer the fact that Eska was targeted. Or that the previous victims had no such objects that would relate to Amon. His injury flared with slight pain, as his mind remembered that name once again.

Eska kept to a corner, as he worked, watching him search through the apartment and making a few apathetic comments about the condition they found the place in. He had to admit, she was right. Though, seeing as the resident has been deceased for some time, they could understand the mess. After about an hour, however, he became curious.

"How _can_ you _be_ here right now, though?" Mako asked, looking at his companion with a curious gaze. "I mean, don't you have specific duties to take care of as a chief?"

"I am currently not in acting position, Desna is."

Mako just stared for a second. "Uh, could you explain that? Aren't you _both_ Chief of the North?"

"We share the burden of leadership with Desna, acting as chief one at a time, only joining together to rule as one when a greater problem arises, than what one of us can solve alone," she elaborated, looking around as she did so. Her own thoughts were slightly more focused, as they didn't revolve around the possible connections between this man and the previous ones Mako inspected the homes of, but remained closely on what she could find right this moment and in this room. And a little percentage of them focused on explaining to Mako how they operated as chiefs with Desna, but for little over a few seconds.

"So it's like you're on vacation or something?" He responded, looking over the Equalist flier once more. That horrifying mask was drawn onto it, of course, causing him a slight shot of pain in his forearm. Luckily, it disappeared almost as soon as it arrived. Still, the thought lingered. And the memory came back if only for a second.

"That is one way to explain it." She responded, looking into some of the cupboards the detective missed, but finding nothing, she turned away. "I do not presume we might find anything else in this area."

"Well, we did our best. At least we have something on our hands. If the guards are correct, this man was a non-bender. And if he did indeed support the Equalists, then that means his death might have been a vigilante attack. If that's the case, it can't really be tied to the attempt against you, as someone, who kills Equalists would be doubtful to attempt to kill a bender. If this was the actual reason he died." Mako said, putting a hand to his chin in thought. As his index finger rubbed against his left cheek, Eska looked at him with curiosity.

"What would we achieve, were that assumption to be confirmed?"

"Well, that means that this was committed by somebody else, not our guy. Which could be good, if we can narrow the number of killings actually done by him. That might make it easier for us to find a motivation and more leads towards who can be the killer. But this is just making assumptions and theories at this point. We should get something more factual before we can confirm any of this. I'm afraid this is all we got here." The firebender sighed, pocketing the flier with the intention of giving it to the head guard, as they exited the building, closing the door to the apartment once again and locking it.

"Where to next?" The monotone voice of Eska asked, as the two headed down the street Mako theorized to be the "main street" of this city, passing by some of the stalls at the market, as well as many of the passers by, some of whom bowed towards Eska with respect, slightly unnerving her companion.

"Well, the closest is supposedly the second house on the left. And this was the most recent. Before the attempt against you, that is. We might find something more fresh there." He suggested, earning nothing more than a nod. At least they could agree on that.

Opening the door and walking inside, they were greeted to a view quite different from what they found in the previous apartment. This was supposedly owned by a water tribe resident, so the change wasn't _that_ surprising, but still.

The walls were richly decorated with symbols of the nation, as well as some other things unrelated to the case. The two began to look around, just like in the previous apartment, looking through everything they found. Mako focused on the room itself, inspecting things that could either point to struggle taking place or something hidden, while Eska looked through the documents they uncovered. However, it seemed that not much would come of this search either.

Quite the contrary, this victim's home seemed to point in the complete opposite direction the previous one could have, even in the realm of assumptions and theories. Eska found a pamphlet of a charity program in the pile of paper she looked through, which supposedly supported victims of elemental damage. And the former resident's name was included as a supporter. Furthermore, the décor would suggest an entirely different personality. Not only were there countless signs of the person supporting the current rule, but there was no actual evidence that suggested any involvement in politics beyond sympathy for one or the other faction.

"This just doesn't make sense." Mako grunted, rubbing his forehead with a finger, as he concluded the search for items in the apartment to be moot and turned to see the documents as well. "Why would the killer go after two completely different people, who have nothing in common? I mean, serial killers always have a pattern, something to tie the victims together. But these guys, as well as all the others, are completely different people. Some are involved with shady businesses, but others are not. Some are locals, while others are newcomers. Some have blue wallpapers, while others have something completely different. Just what could be Songtan's switch?" He sighed, feeling defeated.

"Switch? What is this 'switch' you speak of?" Eska questioned curiously, looking aside from the document she was holding.

"Every murderer like this, serial killers especially, has a subconscious pattern, a switch or two that draws them to kill. Some do it because they see a red object on someone, others specify on people who sound funny. Something like this. But these victims have nothing in common. Not a single thing." He said, planting his hands onto the edge of the table, leaning slightly onto the wooden object. "This just doesn't make any sense."

"Perhaps there is no switch." Eska suggested, sounding calm despite the obvious worry this situation must have put on her shoulder. "What you said is theorizing based on other cases like this, but what if this man kills without any pattern or targets and simply chooses whatever is in front of him?" She asked, taking a closer look at the pamphlet again. "What if he is mad and has no specific pattern?"

"Seeing what he did, I doubt that. Seriously doubt it. If he had no long term purpose or pattern to follow, why would he do it subtly? Why wouldn't he just stand out on the main street and kill whoever was in front of him? If violence is his only desire, surely he would have exposed himself by now with something like this. No, I've seen enough cases to know that Songtan wants something. Our only problem is, I can't figure out what it could be. Whatever it is, it's very subtle."

"I see. Hmm. Perhaps we should attempt a more aggressive method." Eska noted, her right hand sliding out of her wide, furry sleeve to touch her chin in thought.

"What do you mean by that exactly?"

"The killer's identity would be far too slow and difficult to investigate this way. We are required to conduct a mass questioning." She stated calmly.

"A mass what?"

"We gather the citizens onto a big, yet enclosed space, every single one of them. After that is done, we proceed to question them one by one. If this Songtan is not found by then, we will search every single residence until the criminal is not found." Her speech was cold and calm, but the effect it had on Mako was maddening. Just the first half of her idea would be a big abandonment of civil rights, not to mention, it wasn't foolproof. Songtan could have multiple identities or could escape far before they got to the part of looking through the houses.

"That's insane. You can't possibly be serious. " He said, raising an eyebrow, expecting a dismissing "It was merely a joke." comment, but she surprisingly turned to him, looking the firebender dead in the eye. At that moment, his currently worst fear was realized. She was serious about this.

"We are currently doing what we are able to in order to help my people. But, it appears your methods have failed, so I can do little else, but do it with another."

"I didn't say my methods failed, simply that we have a long way to go and I don't get it yet. But we'll find this Songtan guy just ye-"

"My apologies, however this way of solving crime leads to nothing, but the wasting of time. Thus, I must-"

"Okay, but leave me out of it. I'll continue solving this my way, whether you like it or not." He retorted, walking towards the door, when he heard her speak again.

"Then consider yourself removed from my employ." Eska called after him, but right now, he couldn't care less. Even if he was punished for continuing the investigation his way, he would not sit idly while Eska conducted her mad plan of justice.

"Whatever." He called back to her, walking out through the door.

* * *

Additional Author's Notes: Oh, I almost forgot, my lovelies, this week's chapter is being published a few days early for two reasons. One is, to compensate for the massive delay of the last one, which is a smaller reason. However, there is a bigger one, which is a six week break I'm taking. Don't worry, it's not cancellation or catching up with what I wrote, I have almost everything already planned and penned out, however, I am going to a place, where I'll have next to no internet and as such, cannot publish for the next six weeks. My apologies for this, but rest assured, as soon as I get back home, you're getting the rest of the story on time again. Cheers, dearest readers and have fun.


	7. Something 'Fishy'

Author's notes: Welcome back, dear readers! My apologies for taking so long, but from now on, the two-week schedule will most likely return. (Hopefully) As for the rest, well, here we go: Blah blah, hope you enjoy, yadda yadda yadda, please rate and review if you liked it or even if you did not, as reviews are always nice to read, even if they are critical of my work, but as I always say, ON WITH THE STORY!

Disclaimer: Do I seem like someone, who owns an animated TV series this beloved and cherished by it's fanbase? Well, I don't to me. I wish my fanfiction will turn out close to the level of quality the original story had. I'm happy then. But main thing is, I don't own anything here. Except a few things I made up.

* * *

The next three days were spent with the same monotone routine. Each day, Mako woke up, went to Roka's clinic, had a session with her, which cheered him up slightly for the rest of the day, then went out to the next victim's home in order to investigate. Eska was always there, with him, but he didn't protest her presence anymore. Though it bothered him slightly, especially because this kind of exposure for the chief came with most likely double the risk than it would have if she listened to him and hid in some safe place, but the firebender was beyond arguing with her. If she really wanted to come along to oversee things, he figured, then he'd let her. Even if it caused him some frustration. The investigation alone was complicated enough, but the fact he constantly had to be worried about her getting attacked by their suspect just made the whole thing worse.

But in the three days, nothing of interest was discovered. They went to over a dozen people's homes and looked through each, having to comfort grieving family members in some instances, but aside from a few interesting discoveries about various Water Tribe citizens, nothing seemed to stand out during their search. The entire thing seemed nonsensical. As if there really was no identifiable pattern. Some group had a lot of casualties thanks to the killings, but so did some others. And there didn't seem to be any kind of motive, aside from the enjoyment of violence. From time to time, Mako began to slightly doubt himself. Maybe there really was no other way. Maybe Eska was right. But he quickly chased these thoughts away. No, that idea was crazy and it had way too many holes through which the culprit could escape. He had to push on and trust his instincts, as well as his observational skills. And just hope Eska would too.

The Co-Chief of the North seemed relatively calm in most situations, but it didn't take a master detective to spot tiny signs of frustration or disappointment, when she learned of another search leading to nowhere. They were subtle, of course, but Mako could spot the slight twitch of her facial muscles or the suddenly less apathetic and more somber look she had on her face. As her gaze changed ever so slightly from uncaring to disappointment as they came to seemingly yet another dead-end.

The entire thing just didn't seem to fit. Mako could sometimes outright see the outlines of connections between several victims, but then the next one outright proved that there was nothing of the sort. Or something else they found, that disproved his theories.

And as he noticed, what they were doing wasn't exactly subtle either. As the two walked through the streets, Eska sent her bodyguards away, so that they wouldn't draw too much attention to the two of them, but people still kept looking at the two, some of them even bowing to the woman respectfully. It was their customs, Mako thought, but the added attention was certainly unwelcome. It just slightly irritated him, as he walked with her to the next location.

"Is something irritating you, detective?" She suddenly asked, noticing his slight glances at her, wordlessly conveying his desire to ask something, though she had no idea what.

"Hm? Oh, nothing." He said, scratching the back of his head as he walked along with her, noticing the house they were heading for at the end of the street. "Just noticed how many people are bowing to you."

"Is it causing you discomfort? Do they not show respect to your leaders in the Republic?"

"They do, just…"

"Then what is the problem with the greetings my people give their chieftain?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. It was one of those rare occasions, when Eska actually showed emotion, Mako noticed. Too bad it was irritation.

"It's not bad in and of itself, but it might draw some unwanted attention. You know. Expose us if a lot of people bow toward you."

"This attire is not fit to be in incognito, after all."

"Well, it's just something I noticed. And isn't it slightly harder to do field work in this long coat?" He said, hoping he didn't go too far with his suggestions. If she was so Hell-bent on going with him to investigate this thing, she might as well do herself a favor and get something more suited for the possible work they would have to do. The coat didn't seem too good for fighting or chasing a suspect, would it come to that.

"Describe 'field work'." She responded, turning her head towards him curiously, but continuing to walk along with him.

"Well, what we do right now. Looking through evidence, talking to witnesses, etc. But we might be attacked or have to chase a suspect later. And while doing this kind of work, it's usually better to draw less attention. But that's just my opinion." He said, hoping that she wouldn't take it as an insult, just as what it was. Observations.

"I see." Eska replied, looking back towards their destination and seeming thoughtful, for once. As if she was considering his words.

The next day, however, as he investigated the death of an elderly man and it appeared, that he might have actually come to a breakthrough in terms of evidence. Though there was no connection from the man to any major crime organizations or something in relation to the Equalist movement, but Mako did uncover something interesting.

"So, pardon me, but are you sure your husband never spoke of anything like this? Not even a single word? My apologies, but if you think you might remember something, anything, it could be important." He asked the grieving woman, who nodded sadly, wiping away a few tears.

"I'm sorry, detective. I wish I could help, but he never told me about his work. Only said it was something with politics or another, but never more than that. I never even heard this name, 'Rising Tide Society.' I'm sure he would have told me if it was serious." She spoke, causing Mako to nod slightly, writing her response down in a few short words into his notepad. Maybe he actually struck gold now. This "Rising Tide" movement seemed to be secretive and politically motivated, thus it could mean a good connection between at least some of the murders. Perhaps the backers of a specific political figure? Or maybe a secret society operating under the radar? The fact that not even the deceased man's family knew of it seemed to point in such a direction. Even if it did not answer all of the questions, it was the best lead so far for the firebender to start on. He had to ask Eska about it when she arrived. Something, he noticed, she was quite late with.

Not that he minded the woman not being 'on the case' that much. He personally thought she was better off in a safely guarded room, while he put himself out to danger, but she outright refused to just stand around and do nothing, so he learned to accept her decision in this matter. However, as soon as the idea of her not being here began to make him feel relieved, thinking that she might have given up, so did the worry arrive in his mind. Because of his appointments with Roka, Mako woke up and left Eska's residence much earlier than the chief did, thus he had no idea what she was up to until she arrived to join his investigation about an hour in. Today, however, it has been two hours since that time and she has still yet to have arrived on the scene, prompting Mako to feel a slight worry for her. Eska wasn't the most punctual person he ever came across, but suddenly disappearing certainly wasn't like her.

At once, his brain began to stray slightly, his thoughts circling the burning question: Where was his partner in crime solving at a time like this? It was certainly unlike her to not be here, especially considering the willingness and determination she showed in terms of accompanying him. Maybe she was held up with some official business? But she herself stated that Desna ruled during these times, so what could she have gotten mixed up in? If it was something the former Prince of the North couldn't take care of alone, how would that affect the course of his investigation? And just what could be holding her back? The theories began to annoy Mako, so he finally decided to chase them away into a darker corner of his mind, so he could focus on the evidence he found so far.

Suddenly, however, the door opened and in stepped the person his thoughts circled for the past few minutes, bearing the same neutral expression, that suggested both boredom and a slight detest for everything living, as well as having her head of pitch-black hair in the same symmetric style she always wore it. However, his eyes had to widen slightly upon seeing her clothing.

"Apologies, detective. I was late because of important matters I cannot speak of. Shall we continue?" She asked, gazing back at Mako with that continuously apathetic expression, her sparkling blue eyes almost shining. Her long, big coat that previously encircled her entire body from the neck down was not present. Instead, she wore a shorter, thinner jacket, its hood lined with white fur, as well as the chief's royal seal painted into the material in several spots. A darker blue shirt was underneath it, the sleeves of which ended in the long, black glove-like pieces of cloth that covered both of her hands up to her forearms. Without her coat, he could also see her usually worn baggy pants, which ended in her knee-high boots. This was quite the unexpected change from someone so used to wearing the same outfit every day, so to say that the firebender detective was surprised would have been an understatement.

"Is there a problem?" She asked after a time of his wordless staring at her, prompting Mako to blink in surprise and look back onto the table.

"Wha-uh, nothing. It's just that…-" his gaze was dragged back to Eska, seemingly against his will. "Well, you-uh…how should I put it…look…"

"Look different?" The chief finished instead of him and upon looking at her face again, he noticed the tiniest of smiles on her otherwise still calm and disinterested face.

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's just surprising. What's the occasion?" He nodded, looking her outfit over once more. This was quite unlike the person he remembered from a day ago. At least in terms of clothing choices. Of course, people can change styles, but choosing to wear something this different from her otherwise absolute choice of clothing was much big a change for someone like her, he thought.

It certainly demolished his idea that there was some kind of uniform politicians were required to wear in the Water Tribe.

"I chose this for the remainder of the investigation. As you mentioned, 'field work' as you call it, is something my regular clothing is unfit for. Thus, I chose to wear something less of my taste, but better suited for grunt work. Does that satisfy your curiosity adequately?" She elaborated after noticing his slightly confused and disbelieving expression upon hearing her original answer. "Regardless, what have you found so far?"

"Oh, right, sorry." He said, taking the letters and documents he found about the secretive group he wanted to ask her about. "So, we might just have a breakthrough with this. Do you know of a group called the 'Rising Tide Society'?"

After a short time of thinking, Eska nodded slightly, taking a look at the offered pieces of paper. "Yes, I remember such an organization existing. Why?"

"Can you tell me something about them? Anything you know? Apparently our late resident here was a member, so there might be a connection."

"I do not know every detail, but they were supposedly an organization made up of several rich men and women, all of them concerned with the catastrophes the war with the Fire Nation caused and the possible repercussions they would most likely have on the future of every nation." She explained, eyes quickly running through page after page

A slight smirk appeared on Mako's face. "Well, that might be a good lead. I mean, this thing might be politically motivated for all we know, maybe the supporter of someone or some political cause being in the back, but if these people were brought together for projects nobody else knew about and it was connected to the Great War, that might just be our best connection." He said, putting his right hand onto one of the documents as his eyes scanned it again. "Do you know when their last meeting was?"

"About fifteen years ago." She responded calmly, dropping the paper she held back onto the pile. Mako's face scrunched up. Wait, what? No, that couldn't be the case. Why, in the first place?!

"What? But why? What happened?" Mako questioned, raising an eyebrow with disbelief in his voice. No, this couldn't be a dead end again. His left hand curled into a fist, causing slight pain to shoot through his fingers and palm. So all the papers he looked through were worthless?

"Their existence was ended by my father, following a failed attempt at raising the level of the Ocean close to our territories via waterbending and then blaming it on the Phoenix King's attack against the Earth Kingdom. Their best claims were the melting of the ice surrounding our nation, which caused a great panic for some time, until my father investigated and declared the accusation, as well as any claims concerning the melting to be moot. Thus, he banned the group and made sure they were punished adequately. I was not aware some of them still remained here."

Mako felt devastated, to say the least. Tossing the letter he was currently holding in his hand, as well as his last hope concerning the ideas of the "Rising Tide" onto the pile. For once, wishing that he could just set the entire stack of paper ablaze with a shot of fire. But he didn't. Both Eska and Lin would give him Hell if he destroyed any piece of evidence during a case. But where could he look now? There was no other idea, only the-oh, wait.

Snapping his fingers, the detective grabbed a small parchment from his pocket and opened it, taking a look at the list containing names of all victims, going through it quickly, inspecting some of the criteria listed on it. Hmm, it was a slight stretch, but they might just be able to do something with it.

"What are you seeking?" Eska asked, warranting a quick explanation from him.

"Well, I only noticed this recently while looking through the list a couple of times, but a specific group had more of it's members die seemingly than the rest. And they seem to be a political movement, supporting the chief. This might be a stretch, seeing as the rest have nothing to do with them, but maybe we can find something there." He pointed out, showing her the list, as well as the specific names. He only received a slight nod, but knew enough to consider said reply a sign of complete agreement.

"I see no better path to continue either. Perhaps this will prove fruitful."

* * *

Making their way towards a house on the other end of town, where Eska pointed out the leading minister of the specific political group lived. It was a slight hope, but at this point, even unlikely options had to be examined, considering the severity of their situation. While they walked, the detective thought over the case and evidence they gathered so far, coming to the conclusion, that while still unlikely, the closest option to reality might be the political standing of most victims. Still, as the chief informed him, all political groups and followers of all ideologies have suffered this fate, but all other theories seemed to lead nowhere.

The two walked in silence, not speaking another word to each other, which made the situation feel even more tense than it was. Considering their options, though, the fact he noticed this gave the firebender a small glimpse of hope. As the snow cracked under their feet, he thought back to their first meeting and sighed slightly, feeling his injured arm hurt slightly at the thought. He had to find the man. And bring him to justice. The thought of him running free in this place reminded him of something-someone…else. That terrifying visage. That amount of malice and hate coming from a single person. Mako didn't even notice his thoughts slowly drifting from the killer he was chasing now to somebody else from the past.

…that mask…

"Is something wrong, detective?" He was snapped back into reality by a feminime voice, as Eska looked at him, while they walked.

"Uh-wha-oh,no, nothing. I'm alright." He lied. No, he wouldn't have said he was alright. There was something wrong here. Very wrong.

"You seem agitated."

"I'm just worried. Worried that we won't be able to solve this. Guess that's taking a bigger toll on me than I thought." He sighed, looking back at her, noticing her gaze already returned to the road they walked.

"Until a sure conclusion can be found, no matter good or bad, we cannot draw one ourselves. Your worry is pointless." She pointed out. Well, even if he would have worded it differently, she did have a point. Even though the future looked bleaker than the day before, they still had no idea how it would end.

"Alright. Thanks. I needed that."

"Do not mention it." She answered, looking at him again as if to study his expression. Suddenly, however, as Mako ran the case over again in his head, a thought came to his mind.

"Wait a minute, you said you rule one at a time, right?"

"That is how Desna and I assume the position of chieftain, yes. Why do you ask?"

"It just made me curious. I mean, what do you do, when it's not your turn?" He asked. Though it was irrelevant seemingly, Mako's curiosity made him interested in this. It was possible it would prove useful, but right now, it was merely to kill time while the two of them made their way to their destination.

"Why are you interested?"

"I'm just curious. I mean, it's interesting. I only met Unalaq and Korra's father as chiefs of the Water Tribe before, but I never talked with them about how they ruled."

"Our reign differs quite from our father's and uncle's. Mostly because of the fact we lead together."

"That makes me even more curious."

With a sigh, Eska gave in and began to elaborate. "I mostly spend my time visiting the newly built theatre to watch plays performed there. In fact, that was what I attended before our… meeting."

"And your brother?"

"Desna has different ambitions during his free time. He mostly reads works of science or-" she suddenly fell silent, continuing to walk without another word, as if she was supposed to stop talking mid-sentence. Suffice to say, her reluctance made him even more curious.

"Or…what?"

"He…has a peculiar hobby." She answered, continuing upon seeing his interested gaze.

"Desna…travels to a slightly less icy area of the tribe's territory, submerges himself almost completely into the water and as he told me, pretends to be algae." She said, her eyes leaving his for a second, as if in slight embarrassment. Strange from someone like her, but he guessed, everyone could be weirded out by something or someone.

"And…sorry for asking, but…why?" The firebender responded, almost failing to stop himself from laughing. The image she managed to put in his head was absurd, but most of all because it was Desna doing such things.

"As he explained, it allows him to meditate and think better. And it helps him to get in better contact with wildlife on some occasions." She explained, suddenly turning to look ahead, as they approached a tall building. Her left gloved hand was raised and extended towards it, pointing. "We have arrived."

In front of them stretched a tall, tower-like building, quite like most structures surrounding Eska's residence on the other side of the city. The only difference was the surrounding neighborhood, which consisted of shorter, wider buildings. Aside from the height and decorations, a large seal of the Water Tribe also set it apart from most others, signaling a higher purpose for this specific one. He nodded in acceptance of her statement, while the two of them walked inside, Eska carrying obvious authority with her arrival, as she approached the guards at the door.

"We wish to speak with the minister." She told them, prompting the two spears to be pulled aside and the two men to bow at their chief respectfully, extending the bow slightly towards her detective companion.

They found the man they were looking for quickly. His office was on the ground floor. A room larger than most others, Mako noted. Luckily for them, he was inside, reading something of importance, as the chief and her detective companion.

"Greetings, my lady. How may I be of assistance to you?" He stood up and bowed deeply to Eska as they walked in, his voice carrying obedience and loyalty in his greeting.

"I require you to answer some questions to the detective, as well as allow him to take a look through documents he deems necessary." She explained, prompting the minister to nod, though with a worried expression.

"Apologies, but what is the meaning of this? Am I suspected of something?"

"Not yet, at least. However, a group of your supporters met their end to a series of murders and the detective suspects that might mean a connection between the murders."

"I see. Well, you are both free to look through my documents, should you need to. I am at your service as well, Lady Eska." The man nodded, bowing to her once more.

Looking through the man's documents seemed to be a foolhardy task, as there were no signs anywhere that he was involved in anything secretive, which could make him the target or culprit of the murders. They both agreed that a questioning would be better to find out such things.

However…

"Alright, so haven't noticed anything? Nothing in your group's work that would suggest some…shady businesses?" He asked, after taking a look at the records of their funds and finding no suspicious expenses.

"What exactly do you mean, detective?" The minister asked, looking ready to help, but also slightly nervous at the fact that his party was suspected of being both targets and culprits currently. But as it seemed, they were seriously approaching the former category.

"Missing funds, your employees acting strange, disappearing from time to time, dealing with businesses you have not approved of, that kind of thing." He replied, prompting the man to go silent, thinking for a little bit.

"Hmmm, not that I know of. There was this thing a few months back about someone buying new furniture for our main building, which turned out to be stolen material, but nothing of this volume or suspicion."

"Any of your people mention the name 'Songtan' perhaps before the murders began?"

"Songtan? That sounds strange enough that I think I would remember if someone said it to me. But no. Sorry, detective."

"It's fine. Do you think any of your employees might have some…'hired work' helping them? I do not mean secretaries, but perhaps bodyguards or something of the sort."

"What are you suggesting, detective?" Came the response, sounding slightly offended at the potential accusation. "That one of us sent this madman after the others?"

"There are possibilities, I am afraid. But it's not just that. It could be anything, from one of your employees knowing about it beforehand and having hired help to protect them from the killer or them hiring the killer himself for one thing or another. We must look at every possible connection, so that we might find answers." Mako reassured him, writing a few more things into his notepad.

"Oh, alright. Apologies. Not that I know of. And trust me, I know my people well. I am sure I would know about certain individuals being hired under my organization, if it was happening." The minister said, sounding much calmer now that the accusation proved moot.

"We are not the wealthiest people of the Water Tribe, you know? I'm not even sure either of us could afford such a killer. Or guards good enough to protect us from him. But if you think this helps, I will provide all the information you deem necessary."

"Nothing more is necessary right now, thank you. We might contact you later on, but for now, thank you for your time and the information you provided." Mako said, making sure to bow respectfully on their way out, seeing the man do it to Eska as she left the building.

Thus was concluded about an hour of questioning, leading to seemingly nowhere, but to another dead end.

At least they could find out his innocence, seeing as the man had an alibi to nearly all of the murders, which was backed up by others. As they were leaving, however, the man stopped them.

"If you please, detective, may I make a suggestion?" He asked, continuing when both Mako and Eska nodded. "I do not know what your current hypothesis is about the killings, but if you ask me, the culprit can certainly be an anarchist. There have been some incidents in the past before this nightmare began and since they attacked Lady Eska herself the other day, I doubt anyone else could be behind them."

Considering his proposed idea, Mako thought for a bit, before nodding. It was a theory at best and blind accusations at worst, but right now, it did seem to be a logical conclusion.

"And do you know of any known anarchist groups in this city that you suspect could have something to do with it?

"I am glad you asked."


	8. Echo in the Wind

Author's notes: Welcome back, my dear readers!Happy new year to all of you and I sincerely apologize for the loooooooooong wait you had to endure in order to hear from me again. I moved in October and haven't been able to use my computer since for some weird reason and thus, I'm using a laptop right now to write this for you, having had enough of my own inability to continuously entertain you! I hope you still enjoy this story and will continue reading it until the very end, continuing to enjoy all the way. I am, at the moment, somewhat unsure about the times I will be able to publish, but I will do my best to resume the two week periods. Other than this, have fun and ON WITH THE STORY!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that's copyrighted from the Avatar series, both The Legend of Aang and The Legend of Korra. Except of course for this story idea, as well as some minor characters. Now that that's over with, let's continue, shall we?

* * *

Tenzu did not like the night.

No, he decidedly did not like it.

As comforting as the darkness could be sometimes, these days, when people just up and disappeared from the street at night and reappeared dead some time later, he became vary of his otherwise favored shadows. Especially so far from his hometown, during his pilgrimage.

Still, that didn't stop him from taking one of his usual short flights around the northern end of the city, his wing suit rippling with the winds that carried him, while his eyes scanned the landscape, as well as the city sights, the few lights still up bringing some slight comfort to the otherwise cold aura the night carried. In the cold air, it was harder for the young airbender to fly, but for the sights to see, he figured he'd shoulder the added risk.

And he did not regret it, it seemed. The sea was calm outside the city walls, the night was quiet, aside from some people talking in some places and a tavern being open, as always. He even had time to admire the Northern Lights. The spirits never rested, he noted with a small smile. Taking in a deep breath, Tenzu let out a long, tired sigh, feeling the stress of recent events taking a toll on his mind. He knew it'd reach him eventually. He was just happy that so far, he could count himself as a lucky man, who lived.

Dropping down near one of the taverns, a short walk away from his own temporary home in town, he rolled his shoulders with a satisfied groan as the muscles stretched, his feet beginning to carry him towards the bright lights of that familiar place. So peaceful, almost as if he was dreaming, the shadows slipping into each other in the surroundings, his vision was somewhat clouded, but it didn't bother him. He felt happy and completely relaxed.

This peaceful delirium ended, however, with a scream.

A scream that chilled the man to the bones and causing his teeth to rattle slightly, as if an otherworldly cold settled onto him. Screams like this in the night meant something.

He ran towards the scream, though. For some reason perhaps even he didn't know. All he noticed was that his feet were taking him towards the screaming, while his mind warned the rest of his body about the specific dangers of that exact deed.

As he got closer, he began to hear other things every time the screaming died down.

A slight rustling of snow, as if someone was moving around on it.

Slight cutting noises.

And he thought he felt something vibrating. As if the air passed on something bad, he felt his hands shaking. Yet, it wasn't fear. It was something else. Something that wasn't him.

"Come on, put your back into it."

Another scream, another vibration.

"Oh, for goodness sake. The first one was so nice, just try harder!"

Another, even louder scream, which Tenzu was sure even spirits noticed.

"There we go. Wasn't so hard, was it? Oh, hold on, I hear someone coming."

Tenzu ran faster, determined to get to the end of this for reasons even he didn't know. Perhaps he was simply tired of feeling afraid every night. Maybe the cold was getting to him. Regardless, he did what he did.

And he turned left at the next chance.

And came face to face with a gruesome sight.

"What the Hell is going on here?" He asked, almost shouting as loud as the screams were before. "Who's there?!"

"Oh, sorry, did we interrupt something?" The empty, formless darkness replied. Tenzu could see the figures, but his mind could not accept the sights. A tall, slim, person in a long coat seemed to be crouching over the body of someone else, who was lying on the floor, still shrieking in terror from time to time. The one leaning over them also wore a big, wide hat. His grey outfit seemingly made him transparent, almost invisible in the darkness. But the figure moved.

It raised it's thin, long upper body and began to move towards the newcomer. Tenzu was not about to be frightened by some crook, even though his very soul was frozen by the screams and the gravely voice that greeted him.

Doing his best to remain focused, the airbender took up a stance, ready to face this fiend of the abyss if he needed to. His voice, however, was weak and spoke volumes of his fear more than his words.

"G-get away! Get away from that person! What is going on here?!"

"Relax, friend. Just a nice chat and sharing of interests." The grey creature replied, advancing further towards him. Deciding to cut the conversation short at this moment, Tenzu shot an airwave at his newly acquired enemy, aiming at his legs and readying his feet to leap, dodge or even kick if the need arose.

However, the specter was faster.

With lightning quickness, he dodged the incoming attack with a quick sidestep and a turn, before running at his opponent with seemingly superhuman speed, letting out a terrifying battlecry.

Feeling as if Vaatu, the ultimate evil arose in front of him, the airbender stood, frozen in his tracks, as the figure advanced, rushing at him with horrifying speed.

Then, he felt a terrible pain in his gut.

Looking down, Tenzu saw the knife embedded into his abdomen, as well as the hand holding it, looking up slowly on the arm that held the hand. It wore the same grey material, with armor plates in some places, as well as a dagger or two attached to the forearms. Then, he spotted the shoulder attached to the arm, noting the cape masking most of it. Choking on his own breath, he looked up at the figure's shadowy visage.

He saw the pale, almost grey-ish face, that looked like ash rather than skin.

He saw the black, hollow-looking eyes.

He saw the grin.

And then…

…he screamed louder than he ever did before.

That night, he came face to face with the infamous murderer everyone feared.

That night, Tenzu met Songtan.

* * *

"So, this is what we go on?"

"We have little else to follow besides some slight connections to groups that do not exist anymore. Despite the fact that his theory has not been confirmed true by any of our findings, it is logical and so far, our only solid lead."

"Still, it just doesn't add up to me." Mako responded, scratching at his cheek. The entire case looked dirty to him. After the politician suggested they hunt down movements that opposed the reign of Eska and Desna, questioning them one by one, it might have sounded logical, but it was still a bold assumption, something which couldn't be the base of accusations or action taken against people. Sure, asking them questions could work, but to lock them up immediately based on these claims would have been ludicrous. At least she agreed to talk to them first, only resorting to calling the guards in the case that their suspicions were confirmed.

As they made their way towards this new destination, but the outcome was now even more elusive than before. Neither of them knew exactly how they would come out of it.

"If this does not bring us any closer to the solution, I will have to resort to more…aggressive measures." Eska suddenly said as they walked, the fresh snow cracking lightly under their feet.

"Going back to that again, huh?" Mako responded, this time with a slightly sad tone in his voice.

"Do you have something more effective to suggest?"

"No, at least not right now. I still disagree with yours."

"Do not think for a moment I take joy from such things. But in times like this, it is often the one not afraid of doing whatever it takes, who succeeds."

"Yeah, but this is still madness. I even doubt it would work that well, much less work without a hitch and people resisting it."

"Let us both hope, that your method brings us the desired solution. I sincerely do so." The chief replied, with noticeable worry in her voice. Mako didn't have to think hard to know why.

"Then there's two of us." The firebender agreed, sighing. He began to have doubts, but so far, his will was not broken. He would catch this madman. He promised Eska and himself that much.

Suddenly, though, as their feet kept carrying them forward, Eska turned her head slightly to look at her companion. "I admire your determination, detective. You are quite headstrong, if sometimes slightly too much for your own good. Still, I respect the willpower you exhibit, when going through these struggles." She paused, as if searching for the words or worrying about whether or not she offended him or not with what she just said. "I merely…wished you to know of my opinion."

"Thanks…I guess." Mako responded with a slight smile, as well as a bit of surprise, hearing things quite unlike Eska's usual words. "But can you do me a favor?"

"What would that be?"

"Call me Mako. I don't really care for formality and we almost became in-laws once, so I think it would be more appropriate than calling me 'detective' all the time, don't you think?" He asked, feeling rather irritated, even, that the 'Chief of the North' always referred to him by his rank and occupation. They weren't total strangers, after all. And it felt strange after so many people called him simply Mako. For a moment, he saw Eska considering his proposal from the corner of his eye.

"Fair enough. I shall refer to you as Mako, then." She said with a slight nod, making him smile again slightly.

"Okay. Mind if I simply call you Eska?"

"You have done so before."

"Yes, but do you mind if I continue like that? Or do you want me to call you by your title instead?"

A long pause followed. As if she was contemplating the answer. To be fair, he expected her to say yes. He wasn't exactly any royalty after all. And looking back, he began to suspect he might have stepped on a few nerves with it.

"Fair enough, Mako." His name rolled off the Water Chief's tongue, as if she was carefully testing if he truly wanted her to call him that. "You are permitted to call me by my first name."

"Thanks."

Suddenly, though, their idle chat was interrupted by the stomping of feet on the snowy ground and a quickly approaching man in light armor, who looked like he either saw a ghost or ran a marathon just recently. Considering the past events, neither was all too unlikely.

"Lady Eska!" He shouted, waving his right hand, as he got near the two. "You must come! The healers found one!"

His seemingly absurd behavior made Mako raise his eyebrows slightly, but the chief simply nodded. "Calm yourself, soldier. What did they find?"

"A…a…" As he slowed and finally stopped, his breathing became more erratic. The adrenaline disappeared and the tiredness began to take it's ugly effect. "They found a…" His speech was interrupted several times by long sighs and exhausted breaths.

"A what? Stop wasting our time and give me an answer!" Eska snapped suddenly, her voice still mostly calm, but louder and slightly annoyed. Fortunately, it snapped the guard out of his exhausted stupor.

"A survivor, my lady. They found a survivor of another attack by that madman! You must come quick! He wanted to speak with you personally!" He said, gesturing for the two to follow, who then glanced slightly at each other and joined the man in the rush back to where he came from.

'Alright.' Mako thought, while running. 'This should be interesting.'

* * *

The guard led them into a shorter, wider building that Mako noted looked oddly similar to Roka's clinic. It was far larger, though and as he noticed, served as a general clinic, where the injured, badly wounded and seriously sick were treated by healers, who worked for the chieftains directly. On one bed lay their man of interest. Cut and battered in several places, looking like he was on the verge of falling unconscious.

When he spotted Eska and the detective, he began reaching towards them as much as he could, his arm grasping powerlessly at thin air, as if he thought his will alone could pull them closer.

"M…my lady!" He groaned out, almost whispered. As Eska got near him, his hand grasped for hers and in a moment, she pulled it away, prompting desperation to flash on his visage.

Mako gently nudged her in the elbow with his own and at her curious, slightly irritated glance, nodded slightly towards the injured man with a sad expression. It appeared he really wanted someone to hold his hand and the firebender has seen enough cases to know in situations like this, going along was the best way to gain information.

Eyes sparking with slight anger, Eska reluctantly and very awkwardly accepted the man's hand and lightly held it, as if afraid it would either pull her or break apart in her grip. A small smile, slight happiness appeared on the man's face as he weakly began to speak.

"I…I saw a spirit, milady! A specter, I did!" He began to speak, sometimes breaking into sobs, when his grip momentarily tightened on the soft hand he held, before calming once more. "It was a tall, long demon, with a big hat covering it's head! And it had a cloak of abyss covering it'sbody of bones! And it sang horrible songs of death!" He spoke, his speech sometimes interrupted by his own chattering teeth.

"Calm yourself…please. Tell me what happened." Eska responded, her voice becoming slightly less apathetic, as she realized the situation. Although reluctantly, she had to accept the role of comfort bringer to this person if she were to gain any information about his attacker that wasn't gibberish. She eventually crouched, as the hand pulled her down ever more, looking into his eyes with her bright blue orbs, gazing into his very soul and seeing his fear clearly. "Please, tell me."

"R-right away, my lady! S-s-so I was just walking along at night, minding my own business, when-" He began, telling the tale of his misfortune, concluding with Tenzu's arrival and his daring escape from the jaws of singing death.

Meanwhile, Mako was questioning the guards, who found the man. "So what happened? How did you find him?"

"He was running down one of the streets, screaming for the spirits and Lady Eska to help him and just sort of bumped into him, as he was screaming bloody murder at everything." One of the soldiers spoke, looking sadly at the frightened individual. "Poor bastard. I bet he almost wishes he died instead of living with the nightmares he has now."

"Regardless, what happened then?" Mako said, holding up a hand slightly to stop their description of nightmares. He needed the explanation of what happened, not what the guards thought the victim was feeling.

"Well, he screamed someone was being murdered and pointed in the direction he ran from and we went and checked it out. Turned out, he was right." Another one told the detective. He scratched his beard slightly, then continued. "Poor bastard had a knife in him and several wounds. We were too late, unfortunately. He was dead and the bastard got away before we could even catch a glimpse of him."

"What of the deceased man's identity?"

"Well, he's an air nomad, by the name of Tenzu. The scrolls we found on him suggested he came from the Southern Air Temple. We already sent the message of his death."

"I see. Anything you found so far?"

"Nothing. He just found the two, most likely. He told us so." A slight gesture was made towards Eska and the slowly calming man. "Said the airbender saved him and was killed while he escaped."

"Hm, thank you." Mako responded, taking notes. This was getting darker by the minute, it seemed. They had to find the culprit quickly. Then, however, he overheard what Eska was told.

"And he said his name was Songtan! He told me…to remember it! I don't know what for. He had that terrible smile the whole time, the rest of his face was shadow itself!"

The detective slightly frowned. Okay, it was clear now. Another death on the list of carnage this Songtan character left behind himself. A grin and a face of shadow sounded more like ramblings, but he kept listening, hoping the man would drop something useful. He watched as the chief nodded at the words spoken to her and saw her face slightly sadden, while still keeping the tone of voice and general demeanor she was famous for. Her gaze seemed to flash with sympathy and slight sadness from time to time. A fact somewhat surprising to Mako.

"Please, forgive me, my lady. I'm…it was so horrible." The speech ended divulging into sobbing and squeezing the chief's hand, prompting Eska to gently pat his left shoulder, as she let go and stood up.

"Take good care of him." She told the healers, walking towards the exit, Mako in tow.

"What did you find out?" The girl asked once they were on the street again, looking ever so slightly…touched by what happened inside.

"Well, it definitely suits our man. But it was not part of his plan. I'd put extra guards near him if I were you. Maybe our prowling beast comes back for its snack." The detective replied, looking back towards the clinic with slight worry.

"Already taken care of. They will protect him until he is fully healed." She spoke, her voice ever so slightly softer than before. "Such a barbaric man. I will rid the world of him." Right after, her eyes seemed to widen slightly, though hardly noticeable. Mako decided to not question, but try to comfort instead.

"Hey, don't worry. I'll do what I can to help you catch this maniac."

"Much appreciated." Eska replied, her voice sounding almost solemn for once. "So, what shall be our next step?"

"Well, we should-wait a second." Mako began, then quickly snapped his fingers. "Of course!"

"What have you realized?"

"Do you have one of those radio communicators? I heard all nations got some shipped and every leader had one installed in recent years."

Eska's right eyebrow rose from it's original position with a slight amount. "Why would you require that?"

"I need to talk to someone. Someone, who…isn't here."

* * *

"You're doing _**what?!**_ " The shout came from the machine, almost deafening Mako for once.

"I know, I know, Lin, please. I need to assist the authorities here with something that could be bigger than I first expected. I'm not going to die, I can assure you of that."

A loud sigh came from the other end, as well as a slight grunt of annoyance.

"Fine, but what did you call me for, then?"

"I need your thoughts on something. Have you heard about someone named Songtan?" The detective asked his superior, rubbing his forehead with two fingers. It was a slight chance, but maybe Lin knew of him. Or if not, well, then back to square one with this.

"Hmmm, it doesn't ring a specific bell, but it does sound familiar. Why?"

"He's the prime suspect of this case. He also has a real affinity for violence. And is possibly an anarchist."

"Well, I don't know about the anarchist thing, but the name sounds like an old case I was on, back a long time ago."

"What was it about?" Mako asked, his voice rising in volume ever so slightly.

"Murders. They didn't seem to have anything in common, only some very minute details. It didn't end well for anyone. Not the victims, not the witnesses, not even me." Lin responded, her voice somewhat filled with grief. "If your guy is the same as this one, I suspect assassination. The case didn't lead anywhere, except some weird groups of people, who had nothing to do with the victims. If you ask me, it's assassinations. Targeted and then covered up one way or another."

That shocked the firebender. Could it be that Songtan wasn't the mad killer they thought he was, just a hired blade? Still wouldn't explain the number of kills or the variety, but at this point, Lin's words were on point.

"Well, that leaves only one primary group of suspects. This might help us a lot with catching him. Thank you, Lin."

"Wait, I didn't say you should go after him. If it's information I can give, I'll provide that, but I won't send my best detective away on a suicide mission. Get off this case and let the locals handle it." Lin hurriedly replied, with Mako sensing clear fear and slight anger in her voice.

"I can't do that and you know it. If the guy you mentioned is the same one here, this is bigger than just some random assassinations." The firebender responded, understanding her point, but also feeling annoyed by it slightly.

"It's too dangerous. Especially given how you're still recovering, not to mention, on vacation." The metalbender retorted, her voice becoming louder. "The city guard will take care of the situation, but trust me, you are out of your league there. Especially if we consider the cold."

"Then the killer will never be stopped!" Mako suddenly snapped, the gasp of surprise audible on the other side. "I've seen the city guard and their methods, but they are hardly equipped to handle their own criminals, much less someone like this. If I don't find him, no one will. I know it's dangerous, but that's why I have this job, don't I? To take care of dangerous people like Songtan?"

A long silence followed, as Lin contemplated the situation, then finally, he heard the sound of her fist slamming into the top of her desk as she grunted in annoyance. He had a point and she understood that perfectly, even though she didn't like it. "Okay. But be very careful. I will send someone over there to assist the soonest I can. I just hope it won't be necessary. And keep an eye out, okay? If this assumption is correct, you will need to be very careful."

"Alright. I'll keep my eyes open. See you in a few weeks." Mako said, ending the call and putting the machine back in it's place. He walked over to Eska and followed her out with a slightly grim expression.

"You look distraught. What transpired between the two of you?" She asked after a time, looking back at the firebender.

"Wha-huh? Oh, it's nothing. I'm just worried about the case, that's all. Let's hope this will be our final stop."

"Quite unlikely, but let us hope for the best." Eska nodded in agreement, continuing to walk.

They both hoped their answers would be found at their next location.


	9. Two's Company

Author's notes: Hello and welcome, dearest readers! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, just like always and will continue to read and enjoy it, I'm doing my best to make this story as enjoyable and fitting to my artistic idea as possible, yet still coherent and legit in the amazing world The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra created. As always, please rate and review if you liked this chapter or even if you did not, I always take constructive criticism well. I hope you will have fun with this chapter too and as I always say, ON WITH THE STORY!

Disclaimer: This one does not own anything copyrighted from the Legend of Korra animated television series, except for its own ideas, which this one added into the material. Disclaimer over.

* * *

Well, this was…awkward, to say the least.

Never in his life did the detective imagine something like this would happen.

As if reality just slipped out from right under his fingers.

He was sitting here, having a dinner at the private residence belonging to one of the two chiefs running the North, doing his best to appear civil, despite being surprised, slightly confused and for the most part, worried that this evening might not end as smoothly as he first thought it would.

And across from him, sat the only other person currently in the room with him.

Eska.

He agreed to the dinner plans because he thought it might be a good idea to inform Desna, the current acting chief of their situation and maybe ask for some directions to certain nobles and higher ups in the society. So of course it took the firebender by complete surprise, when he didn't see him anywhere.

"So, uh…is Desna not joining us?" Mako asked, while the two were seated by two maids, looking around as if waiting for the twin to appear through the door, claiming he was held up by some important business.

Though, considering the way he was, he imagined Desna would rather enter slower, walking over to the table and taking a seat at a leisurely pace, while giving the two an apology that he was sure was sincere in the waterbender's own way, but sounded half-hearted to anyone else.

"Unfortunately, his duties as chief drew him away from dinner for tonight. He informed me to tell you he apologizes for this." Eska's calm voice rang clear again, as the two ate. Unfortunately, this brought another problem for Mako. Since they both knew about how and where the investigation stood, neither of them hadanything to tell the other about it.

Which made for an awkward, but somewhat amusing silence between the two.

Out of options, Mako decided to do the only thing he realized he could.

"And, well, how have you been since Kuvira's little…'incident'?" He asked, trying to revive the conversation that died with Eska's confirmation of her twin's circumstances. True, he actually felt curious about her. The last time he's even seen her was when the two met Bolin before Wu's botched coronation. And to count the times he actually spoke with her, that wasn't after way back during the Harmonic Convergence.

Safe to say, a long time.

"It has been mostly uneventful. We were not forced to act together as chieftain ever since. No great threat arose, fortunately." The girl's flat voice rang once again, earning a slight nod from Mako. As expected.

"And how did the North fair after your father's…well…you know." He tried.

"Following our father's demise, Desna and I established a much stricter system. The situation required so." She explained. He could see the logic in that. And this system of one ruler at a time seemed good too. Depressurizing both of them, while still keeping the position of chief filled. However, what she said next surprised him.

"It was good to meet Bolin again in Republic City." She suddenly spoke, with Mako noticing that her voice sounded… _softer_ than usual. Not by much, but it seemed as if she was attempting to communicate emotions with her tone of voice. From her, it was rather expressive.

"Well, I'm sure he was happy he met you again too." The firebender added, earning a raised eyebrow from her.

"He appeared irritated by my presence. Why would you think he was happy?" She asked, looking curiously at him. Her old voice was back, filled with apathy, slight cynicism, as if she thought he was going mad, asking such things and the slightest hint of curiosity.

So she did notice.

"He was probably just tired from work and that's what you saw in him." Mako said, trying to settle the situation peacefully. He didn't want to offend Eska or reveal the reason his brother acted not all too enthusiastically upon noticing the twins. "He was surely happy to meet you again."

Upon hearing that, the hand holding the fork that was heading for Eska's mouth stopped in the air. For a few moments, she stared at him in silence, as if contemplating his words and her response.

"I see. I never quite assumed such from him. Or _you_. That you would consider us to be on positive terms." She explained, making the detective remember how he got into this mess in the first place, at the beginning of the investigation.

"Well, we did fight evil spirits almost to the death together, so I guess that would make us somewhat close. Comrades, maybe?" He reasoned, after swallowing the forkful of meat currently residing in his mouth, along with the lump in his throat. Eska merely continued to stare, seemingly having lost interest in her meal for the time being.

"You confuse me." She spoke, once more using that softer tone, as Mako noticed. As if she was unsure. He never heard her speak like this before. "You proved ready to leap headlong into dangerous and lethal situations in order to attempt helping people, who might not even benefit from it. I cannot see the reason for it."

"Ah, it wasn't that big of a deal. It was the right thing to do." Mako responded, thinking over his response slightly. "Even if we didn't know each other, I would've offered to help with this."

Surprisingly, the curious gaze only deepened. As if the two icy blue orbs wanted to pierce through his own and see into his mind directly. The firebender hoped it was only her mild curiosity fading, but as her continued words revealed, he was wrong on that.

"Your dedication and selflessness is confusing. Why risk injury and demise, when you can gain nothing for yourself?" The girl asked, tilting her head curiously to the side slightly, that piercing, searching gaze never leaving Mako's own.

"It isn't about whether or not we gain something. It's about helping others." He tried to explain something perhaps even he didn't get at 100%. But Mako knew his willingness to help others, even in face of danger, was the right idea. So he did his best to explain.

"I see." Eska responded, as if studying him further. "Your interest in protecting others at the cost of your own wellbeing still raises some questions." She added.

"Well, that's a bit more complicated." A longer pause came. He waited for the inevitable curious glance and then the question.

"Would you be able to elaborate?"

Yep. There it was.

After a long pause and a slight sigh, Mako began, figuring that he somewhat owed her an explanation. And she seemed genuinely curious.

"It's a long story. Since we were kids, we needed to take care of ourselves. Since I was the bigger brother, I guess I took it upon me to protect him. And I think it just stuck on me." He said, a soft smile playing on his lips as he remembered the fond memories of their childhood and adulthood, both before and after meeting Korra. Unintentionally, he even added something, surprising himself. "It's kinda…lonely, without him, I guess."

A short nod of Eska followed, as the two resumed eating, the conversation stalling for a few minutes, neither of them seemingly able to say much more. He thought about the way she reacted. Being the Tribal Princess of North, he expected her to have had a pretty leisurely life, but seeing her now, he could hardly imagine a more isolated upbringing. And strict rules, most likely.

Unalaq must have been a terrible father.

"Have you…ever been… _close…_ with anyone before Bolin?" Mako asked, drawing Eska's gaze at him yet again. After seeing it so much, however, it was far less unnerving than the first few times. It almost seemed…sad, with the way she stared without emotions.

"No one besides my brother. Father would not allow it." She added the last part almost inaudibly, with a slight tint of regret in her voice. Mako nodded, his assumptions having been proven.

He thought back to their previous encounters. Sure, she seemed awkward and slightly even frightening in most situations because of her attitude and behavior, but seeing and hearing her like this now, Mako realized he clearly couldn't fault her for it as much as he previously assumed. His sympathy only grew, when he thought back to his own past.

"I know how that feels. Though not for the same reason."

Eska's eyes turned from slight sadness back to their original, neutral stare, before one of her eyebrows was raised, communicating her still lingering curiosity. "Elaborate." She said, though her voice sounded slightly lighter than usual. As if she was asking him, not just stating what she wanted to hear.

"We didn't have lots of people we could trust before all of this." Mako began to explain, noting the chief's slightly more interested expression. "We grew up on the streets and as I said, had to take care of ourselves and each other. Gives you little time for anything else, I guess."

A short silence followed, after which Eska spoke again, sounding slightly bored, but at least somewhat curious about him. "You were on quite positive terms with cousin Korra when we met. And Asami Sato as well. And were a detective of Republic City. That seems hardly akin to life on the streets like what you just described."

Mako sighed. He somehow expected her to be curious about that. Even if she gave no sign of being interested in hearing the full story of his pre-Korra life before.

"Well, that was somewhat accidental. We met Korra out of sheer coincidence, at the probending stadium. And Asami? Well, she pretty much hit me with her moped." He said, chuckling slightly, rubbing the back of his neck for a moment in slight embarrassment. Looking back, he really wouldn't have expected things to turn out the way they were.

"Those sound quite different from situations that would lead to a relationship similar to what you had with them." Eska said, sounding skeptical of the whole thing. It wasn't a surprise.

"It's a long story. But I have to tell you, back then, I would have thought the same thing." The firebender responded, sighing. "I think we were kind of like Bolin and you. Except with slightly different results." He smiled slightly, remembering the whole situation. It all seemed like a really bad joke now, but for better or worse, it brought them together with the twins throughout the whole ordeal. Close enough to call Eska a friend, perhaps.

Upon looking at her face again, however, he noticed something strange. A smile, tiny and almost unnoticeable, but one very different from the grin she saw her make whenever she seemed happy before. This one was subtle, almost as if she was trying to hide it. But it was a smile none the less. Which gave an interesting feeling to when she said the following.

"It is truly strange." Eska spoke, her tone still soft, though only slightly more so than her usual voice. Almost unnoticeably. "I cannot understand your way of thinking. But remembering Bolin did bring…some things I feel fond about." She explained, then looked at him, awaiting response.

"Well, that's one way to look at it. You and Bolin have become close, so it's natural you remember him fondly." That brought no response. As if silent acknowledgement was everything Eska felt necessary to communicate, while the two continued their meal.

Suddenly, however, a knock sounded on the door that served as the entrance to this room. Three short knocks, quick and sharp.

"Come in." Eska spoke loudly, with the same expression of apathy and perhaps slight irritation returning to her features.

The guard quickly opened the door and appeared shocked upon noticing Mako at the table. He immediately fell to one knee and held out a scroll towards the lady in blue.

"Oh, my sincerest apologies, Lady Eska, but your brother sends this message with utmost urgency." Eska took the scroll and opened it, briefly looking through it with quick movements of her eyes. Upon finishing it, a short sigh left her lips. No longer or louder than Pabu's sneeze, but her frustration was instantly acknowledged. Compared to how Eska usually communicated, this was the equivalent of a shout of frustration.

"My apologies. My brother requires help with something, so I must depart for a short amount of time." She spoke to Mako once more, standing from her seat and bowing respectfully. The detective was instantly on his feet as well and bowed back.

"Don't worry. I know how important that must be. I'll wait for you here." He said, smiling at her softly. She nodded in agreement.

"Fair enough. I shall return soon. If unexpected things shall happen, my maid will inform you." She said while leaving the room and Mako sat back into his seat, watching as the Lady of the North left the building with the guard in tow.

Finishing the few bites remaining on his plate, Mako thought back to their conversation. _Guess she isn't fully happy with how she was raised either. Who would've thought?_

* * *

He waited.

For minutes.

Those minutes turned into tens of minutes.

Which then turned into hours. Three of them to be precise. Mako waited patiently, however, after the three hours have passed and absolutely no word came from either Eska or the maid, he became slightly worried.

It was just taking longer than anticipated, right? Eska did say she would return soon, but it could have been something tricky that required her attention for longer than she estimated at first. Though she did also say, that if she would get delayed, she'd send a maid to inform him. This just didn't feel right.

He got up from his seat and began slowly walking in the direction he saw her leave. Strangely, as he remembered, it wasn't towards the exit, but rather, the interior of the building. Most likely she needed some documents or something else from there. Still, the best idea was to begin his search there.

Turning left, he opened a small door, that led him to a smaller chamber, with a bed at one wall and a desk at the other. Both were made of fine stone, with water tribe symbols as decorations and both were neatly arranged. A passing thought hit Mako's head that this was most likely her room, so he closed the door softly. She was not here anyways. Thus, his search continued.

Backtracking to where he turned left last time, seeing as Eska's room was a dead end, Mako went the other way this time, finding a single door at the end of the hallway.

Thinking he would find her, the detective opened the door and stepped through. Mist, or rather, steam, hit his face in a heavy dose as his feet carried him into the room.

And then…

His eyes went wide.

Limbs felt frozen.

And his mind felt as if it wanted to explode into tiny pieces from surprise and confusion.

There she was. Eska.

Except, she was without clothes…and she was currently seated in a bath similar to onsen baths Mako remembered seeing in Republic City, having her hair washed currently by her maid.

The two women reacted differently to the firebender's entrance. The maid shrieked slightly in surprise and brought her hands to her mouth, while Eska, using her arms to cover her chest as best as she could, submerged her body to the neck into the water and questioned. Her voice did not sound surprised at all. Or shameful.

"May I know what the reason is for your interruption of my bathing, Mako?" She asked, motioning for the maid to continue her work.

The detective, for once, was completely speechless. He looked nervously away, while doing his best to keep his eyes near Eska, lest he be deemed disrespectful. But the situation seemed completely absurd.

"I…I was waiting for you for hours. You said you'd not be away for long and that you were doing something for your brother." He spoke finally, after a long, awkward pause, his cheeks ablaze with redness. "I thought something happened, so I came looking."

This caused Eska's eyes to ever so slightly widen, as if in surprise. Or realization.

"Perhaps I have forgotten to send a maid to inform you. The situation took longer to solve than I anticipated and thus, I came here to take my evening bath. I apologize for making you wait." Her gaze stayed on him, but her voice was again in that softer tone Mako could almost recognize as embarrassment. Most likely at her mistake.

"No problem. I'm just glad you're fine. Just…I'll be making my way out, then."

"Wait."

Eska's voice rang and Mako froze as he was turning away, about to leave. He twisted back towards Eska, only to see the maid drawing her hands back at the gesture of her lady's hand, while the chief herself stood up in the bath, the water covering her up to her waist and her hands still hiding her chest. "I request you to stay, Mako." She called out to him and his eyes returned to hers, a surprised spark in his gaze.

His jaw couldn't quite work, couldn't quite voice the question that instantly sprang to mind. _Why would she want him to stay_? At this time, of all times? Still, for some reason, his legs did not move. He turned his entire body back towards her and, not understanding the entire situation, looked at her with a puzzled expression, as if trying, to no avail, to figure out what her intentions were.

"You may leave now." Eska instructed the maid, who bowed towards her, with the appropriate "Yes, my lady." and left the bath chambers. The firebender moved slightly closer, looking around. He had to admit, if anything, that the Water Tribe's architecture really amazed him. Even in this frozen land, with little to no building material besides ice, they could create amazing masterpieces of structure and decoration. However, this did little to distract him from the fact that the person he was currently supposed to speak with was a little less clothed than what was considered appropriate in such a situation.

"So, uh…why did you want me to stay?" He asked, feeling more and more curious by the seconds about her reasons to keep him here.

"I enjoyed your company and wish to continue our conversation." Eska responded after a slight pause, sitting back into the seat carved into the side of the bath, submerging herself up to her neck once more. "Please, join me in the bath, if you wish." She motioned with one hand over the clear, blue water. It did look inviting and the steam rising from it suggested that the bath was quite warm, which would have been a nice contrast to the cold temperatures of the outside, but he still took a step back.

"Thank you, but I think I'll decline. It wouldn't be appropriate." He said, as his feet slowly began moving in the direction away from all this. Except, they moved slowly, sluggishly. As if something was weighing them down.

"Do you not have difficulty taking baths?" Eska questioned, prompting another curious glance. "I assumed you might have some complications because of your injury. I could assist you if you wish, while we continue our conversation. I assure you, I have no indecent ideas." She added the last part perhaps in response to the man's skeptical expression. Ultimately, though, she was somewhat right. His arm was getting better thanks to Roka, but some everyday tasks still proved to be a difficulty to him, bathing for instance.

"…Okay. I…accept your invitation." He reluctantly said, moving away to one of the side rooms he recognized as a place he could disrobe at and emerged soon after, wearing nothing, but a towel around his waist.

Slipping into the bath with relative difficulty, he sat across from Eska and gazed deeply into the clear, blue orbs that were her eyes. The entire situation seemed surreal, out of place, even. But hey, she was right, he could use some relaxation right now. Even if the circumstances did make it harder to calm his mind.

* * *

A good few minutes passed, with neither of them saying anything. Mako leaned back against the solid wall of the bath in his seat, keeping his left arm out of the water and away from the bath. He couldn't figure out what to say, while Eska just seemed uninterested in saying anything. Not that it was unusual for her.

"Uh…thanks for inviting me in. This is really relaxing." He tried, hoping that positive response would ease the tension visible in the room.

"I did not imagine you would say that." Eska's monotone voice responded, but this time, Mako's ears welcomed it, for some reason. Hearing her made him…happy? No, that's not it…relieved, perhaps? Almost as if he missed listening to Eska. "I was under the impression that you disliked being here."

Well, he could live without the whole serial assassinations and the investigation, but other than that, the firebender admitted to himself, he had to be grateful for the chance to come here.

"Well, there is at least one person currently trying to kill us, but I'm glad to be here anyways." He said, leaning back slightly.

"Why is that, though?" Eska questioned, sounding slightly curious once again. "I assumed you dislike this land, as it weakens your bending so much. Not to mention the current circumstances are not exactly…pleasant either, to say the least." She sighed, as if admitting a mistake she was ashamed of. Mako could understand. Even though they both knew, openly saying that an assassin roamed the streets of your city freely was an intimidating idea.

"Well, despite what you think, I always admired the water tribe. At least the members of it, who live at the poles." Mako responded quickly, remembering his long time fascination with these lands. "These places seem to be unlivable, yet your people manage to build great cities like this one onto it. That's something I admire." Then he stopped. But he didn't want to. He had something else that made his stay here kind of nice despite the constant danger of death. But would he be okay saying it? His eyes shut for but a single moment in thought, as the detective contemplated what he should do next. Then he decided. "And, well, you're here too."

At that, as expected, one of Eska's eyebrows was raised. However, unexpectedly, the other soon followed. Perhaps the clearest facial expression Mako has seen the girl possess since they last met. Pure surprise and confusion. However, it was only momentary and the Lady of North soon regained her composure.

"Why would my presence cause you to feel good about being here?"

"Well, true, we haven't exactly started well, but we are sort of teammates now, aren't we?" He asked, sounding slightly hopeful. After a long pause, she nodded.

"I suppose. We are working on this case together, after all." She stated, seemingly thinking over what she just said once more.

"Well, it's nice to be with people you can trust, you know? We can count on each other and…that's a good thing. Even if only for this case." He noted, feeling rather strange saying these things.

"You…find being in my presence enjoyable?" Another slight twitch in the eyes, most likely surprise.

"Yeah. You…could say that." The firebender said it, growing slightly unsure himself. Not in the fact that he felt this way, but in that maybe he should have not shared this information with her. Especially at this time.

A slightly shorter silence followed, with the two of them sitting and seemingly admiring the sounds of the evening outside.

Until…

"May I…ask for a small favor?" Eska began, sounding neutral, with the slightest hint of softness in her voice. Almost as if she was…unsure about what she was asking for.

"Sure, what would it be?"

"Could you assist me in washing my back?"

That caught Mako off guard. That was one strange request in his book. Especially from someone, like Eska. But since it was only the two of them, he could understand her plight and nodded slowly.

"Uhm…sure. If you're sure about this." He said, slowly moving closer to her, with the waterbender turning away, showing her back to him in the process.

"It is perfectly fine, Mako. Usually, the maid washes my back, but I do not want her to intrude upon our conversation. Thus, I thought we could help each other." She responded quickly, her voice sounding certain and neutral once more. And he had to agree. It really sounded logic-wait.

"Uh, what do you mean 'each other'?"

"I assumed you would have difficulties washing your body because of your wounds. Thus, I imagined my assistance could prove useful at this moment."

Slowly reaching for the small soap-like substance Eska pointed at, the firebender slowly nodded again. That would really be helpful, though unexpected and slightly awkward, considering their mutual past. But in this current situation, he was out of other options.

Thus, the two began to wash more actively, helping each other, but staying completely silent throughout the ordeal. Mako thought about what had transpired in the last few days, but right now, his thoughts revolved more around him and Eska. The way she interacted with him, the way he responded to her usually. It seemed out of place, yet completely logical and fitting for such a situation. Maybe the situation was out of place, then? But somehow, it didn't matter. For some reason, which even Mako didn't know, he felt…good. For some reason even he couldn't explain, his mind accepted the situation with all of its strangeness and felt at peace. Almost happy, if he would be to say it. Like a calm, gentle veil fell on the two of them, masking everything else around the bath. It felt peaceful.

It felt calm.

It felt slightly awkward, but in a good way.

Mako felt somewhat happy, as his fingers gently rubbed the soap against Eska's back and while she did the same to him.

Of course, this all seemed to evaporate, when she spoke again…

"…You know, I must say, I enjoy our ventures together as well. You remind me of Bolin and bring me good feelings, yet you are different from him as well. He was a turtle duck, while you would rather be…a "firey ferret.""


	10. Close and yet Far

Author's notes: Ooooookie dokie. Well, here we are, scuttling along on this road of stories and characters. As I'm writing this, my hands are kind of sweaty, because for your knowledge, by the time of writing this, the previous chapter has not been posted yet, so I am very curious and somewhat nervous about what you guys will think of it. But, as always, read and if you liked it, please review. Or even if you didn't. I can take criticism.

Disclaimer: This one does not own the Avatar series or any characters/themes associated with them, except for the ones this one made up on it's own. Things like Songtan, for example.

* * *

The air seemed to freeze immediately around them. All thoughts and feelings were pushed aside by one single emotional state.

Confusion.

 _W-what did she just call me?_ came the thought into Mako's mind, but it was like a distant shout trying to pierce a loud thunder, his eyes widening. For once, he was glad that the chief's back was turned towards him, otherwise, she might have asked why he looked as if he's just seen a ghost.

Meanwhile, his fingers gently glided over the soft skin of Eska's back, spreading the soap and helping the woman wash. His motion didn't break, his hands didn't stop and his mind did not completely shut down. But he felt like it should have. Everything in his mind told him to feel strange about her saying these words in the order she did and that he should have clearly indicated that, but instead, he continued to rub, now her shoulders, doing his best to rub the white substance into her skin adequately.

His mind seemed to split into two halves. One, which he felt as an inner voice, screaming at him at the top of its lungs, seemed desperate to tell her how strange he found what she said and demand an answer for this sudden and uncharacteristic choice of words. The other, which seemed to control his actions right now, was simply reveling in the softness of Eska's skin, simply admiring the natural beauty of the Chief of the North, the former Tribal Princess. _It was kind of nice of her to help me out with my back_ this softer, less agitated voice said, meeting the rather vigorous objection of the other one, which demanded he focus himself and ask her right away.

The end of their quarrels was him stopping momentarily in his tracks, prompting the black haired woman to turn her head to the side, one icy blue orb staring into his, wordlessly asking the question he already knew the answer to. And from the two dueling mindsets, out came one, single, softly voiced question.

"Sorry, uh, what was that?"

"What do you mean?" She inquired, turning more towards him, her arms held firmly in front of her chest, so as to avoid indecency. She was staring into his eyes with both of hers now, the apathetic gaze of hers carrying the slightest bit of surprise and ever so little of inquisitiveness.

"I…uh…couldn't hear you very well. What did you just say?" He asked, feeling a small amount of dread settle onto him. As if suddenly, he was afraid of what those two words actually meant. Afraid of what she would say and how he would react to it.

After some time of her seemingly considering her answer, Eska gave a short, but thorough explanation.

"I called you a 'firey ferret.' You are a firebender, and your passionate work attitude could also be taken as 'firey'. Thus, I compared you to a fire ferret. Does your brother not have one as well?" She responded and for the longest time, Mako swore he could see a tiny, almost smirk-like smile appear on her face, as if she was proud of her witty way of naming him. Of course, this was not quite the response he was hoping for, neither the explanation he was afraid of.

"O-oh, okay. It sounded like something different." No it did not. He perfectly heard and understood what she said. The problem was in the feeling it left. It was unusual from someone like her, but even more so was the comparison between him and Bolin, which sent a chill down Mako's spine.

And not because of the events that happened while she was calling Bolin a familiar name.

And from then on, some other thoughts cropped up in his mind. As he continued to rub the soap into Eska's back, then turning around after a time to let her help him, his mind considered the next day's events. They were most likely nearing the end of the trail and their main suspect was most likely in reach. And that, of course, made him think of their arrangement.

He agreed before to bring her along because otherwise, she would not have allowed him to continue the investigation, but he still thought it was a bad idea, especially considering how dangerous it was.

He had to tell her about it. The sooner, the better.

* * *

"What is on your mind, Mako?" Roka's voice broke the firebender out of his stupor, as the old woman was just about to finish their current session. "Did something bad happen?"

At once, he felt slightly frozen. As if he knew what things to say, but not the exact words with which he could say them. And for a moment, the thoughts seemed to run together in his mind, obscuring the real thought that was bothering him. Was it the term Eska used to call him last night? Or the fact that he felt she would be in danger at their next destination, but too stubborn to be talked out of going there. Or maybe that if he failed to bring this assassin to justice, who knew what could happen.

"N-no, not really." Mako tried to brush it off, but those curious eyes remained fixed on him, unrelenting.

"Do not lie. If anything, that will just make matters worse." Roka's kind voice was, at once, filled with authority and strength, something the detective wasn't used to from the friendly healer. "You look like something is distracting you. Causing you pain, or at the very least, discomfort. I can see it." She said, her eyes looking directly into his, making him believe what she said immediately. Most likely with years of experience, Roka knew inner pain or distraction, when she saw it.

"I…I'm a bit confused, maybe. With all this…happening." He said, resisting the urge to reach up with a hand and rub the bridge of his nose. Receiving nothing, but a slight nod and a gaze further curious from Roka, however, sent Mako the message that he should elaborate. "I feel like no matter what I do, it's taking me nowhere right now. As if I am chasing a shadow I cannot touch no matter how hard I try." The firebender said, seeing the old woman's head nod once more in silence, while she reached aside with one hand for some herbal medicine or another.

"So the difficulty of your current task is what plagues your mind? The one concerning Lady Eska that you have told me about?" The healer questioned, reminding Mako of their previous sessions, during which he gave her bits and pieces of, under his judgement, not harmful information from his investigation. "I would imagine that to be the biggest problem on your mind, yet…" The elderly woman paused, prompting the young man to raise an eyebrow. Just what was she getting at?

"…it does not quite feel like it is what plagues your mind the most." She continued, spreading even more confusion. "I never felt you to be quite so…'troubled' by the difficulties in your task ahead of you during our previous times together."

After a long, silent pause, with nothing but the gentle sounds of moving water to accompany his thoughts, the firebender nodded.

"I think I'm…worried, mostly. But not about myself." He forced these words out with effort, not feeling in the mood to talk about such things, especially when his psyche was still so confused about the events of last night.

"Afraid for the young lady you accompany on your journey?" The woman asked without looking at him, focusing her eyes on the arm she was trying to heal, but Mako felt as if she could see his expression either way. After some time, another short nod followed the question.

"That is understandable, there is nothing wrong with fearing for someone in danger." She spoke, pulling her right hand from the water and gently patting his shoulder with it, in an almost patronizing manner. "I do hope you will succeed, however."

"That's my biggest problem. I don't know." He responded, doing his best to not convey that this kind of worry was not the full extent of his woes.

"That is only you being human." Roka responded, her right hand rejoining her left above the water. "You are strong, Mako, but no one is invulnerable, no matter how much they seem to be. You have your limits, like anybody else, even if you would not like to. You have survived things seemingly much worse than this, but I urge you not to push yourself unless necessary. It could wind up doing more harm than good."

He couldn't help, but, once again, nod slightly. The understanding of just what happened the night before could wait, he had to focus on his main task ahead, which was to protect Eska from harm and solve this case. And with that, he sighed, allowing the healer to continue her work as usual.

* * *

"Thank you for agreeing to meet me, brother. I know these times are difficult for you as well." Eska said, her voice soft, the kind that only her brother was allowed to hear most of the time.

The two sat at a long, elegantly decorated dining table, formed from ice, yet strangely sustained, even when warm dishes like soups were put onto it. They have finished their meals already, but remained seated, the conversation alone keeping them there.

"But of course. I am always happy to have breakfast with my beloved sister." Desna replied in his usual voice, though his twin understood him perfectly. "You look troubled, though. What bothers you?"

Seemingly without emotion, the young girl responded. "Merely the investigation. It could prove harder than we originally anticipated." She lamented, shutting her eyes for just a mere moment longer than a blink, but it was enough for her brother to notice.

"Does that fool still protect his own methods so vehemently as before?"

"Do you not trust his skills?"

"His skills I do not know, however, as acting chief, I must be concerned for the lives of everyone in our great city, not merely for the happiness of a crippled detective wishing to boast his importance while delaying our ruling system from work." His response was sharp, yet calm, though it communicated what he wished well enough. However, this had a previously unseen effect on the other chief of the North.

Something she never quite felt before.

Her eyes tightened slightly, almost squinting, as Eska studied her twin brother, not quite sure if she saw mere logical doubt in him or outright personal distrust towards the firebender.

"Your words I can understand, but you misunderstand. He is working to the best of his abilities and we are making progress, even if only slight." She answered, even surprising herself to be on Mako's side for once and not agreeing instantly with her beloved sibling. Though, truth be told, he never before held an opinion differing from hers. Perhaps their years spent so close to each other had that effect.

"Have you grown attached to him, perhaps?" Desna's question struck her as strange, seeing how she hasn't noticed such a thing at all. Or felt like she eluded to anything like that during their conversations thus far.

"Why would that be of any relevance to this?"

"I do not trust him, yet you spend an amount of time far too much with him, thus I am worried you might have become attached to him despite your better judgement." That struck deeper than he perhaps intended, because for the first time in their entire lives, Eska's face held a scowl in her brother's sole presence. Never before was it seen by him, only when other elements were in the bigger picture. Which he supposed was the case currently as well.

"I do not see your point. Besides, this is unimportant. We are going to apprehend that criminal in due time. I urge you to be patient. As much as I despise this situation, there is no quick way to solve it. And while I do not agree with him in everything, Mako certainly has a point. A mass questioning, even though more fitting to our nation's traditions, would be inefficient at best." She said, her expression more firm and expressive than Desna has seen usually.

With a sigh, he nodded in agreement, even though his mistrust for the detective remained. And because of this discourse, his trust of his sister's judgement was riddled with doubt as well. But perhaps he could be patient, just a little more. Until this endeavor ultimately plummets to the ground in flames, after which he would overtake the case most likely.

"I see. I can give you some more time, but you must know I am worried about you, sister." The brother said, for a moment, slight worry sparking in his eyes, something he himself was not really used to. Or the softer tone with which he spoke these words. "This is a dangerous case and may claim more from you than you might anticipate."

"That only makes me more eager to continue this work. There are no other options, besides letting the killer roam free." She responded, prompting Desna to put a hand to his chin in thought. "Your worry, however, is appreciated." She added after a short pause with the tiniest of smiles appearing on her lips, surprising her brother. This was quite…different from what he was used to. Right then, however, he couldn't help, but admit, a small smile quite suited her.

"Fair enough. You have my support." The acting chief said, slowly standing at the same time his sister rose from her seat. He could wait a little more with the investigation, though, his deeper concerns were those he dared not mention in front of his beloved sister. Concerns related to her unusual trust of Mako, her slightly strange adamant desire to partake in the investigation and her… _new_ choice of clothing, when being near that fool, as relayed to him by one of the servants that saw Eska a few days ago. "But you must know, I still cannot trust the detective."

"Acknowledged, but disagreed with. Have a pleasant day, brother."

"You as well, sister." He exited, leaving Eska alone with her thoughts.

For some reason, she felt it necessary to defend Mako against her brother. Her mind raced, trying to find the right answer. Sure, they were partners in this investigation, but Desna's mistrust was more than reasonable. Mako and the current acting chief hardly knew each other and despite his sister and the detective working together tirelessly, he was not present to any of that. Desna's doubt of the firebender's loyalty and abilities was, if nothing else, misguided, but responsible.

That was not what confused the second chief of the North, however. What made her mind question the current situation was the fact that she felt it necessary to defend Mako's trustworthiness against the doubt of her brother. Something that lay beyond relevance to the more important of issues, namely his urging to use a more traditional method for the investigation.

She had to question herself. Why was she doing that?

Was the time she spent with the detective on this investigation affecting her own mind more than she thought it did? She _did_ share her bath with him last night, but that did not mean anything…

 _Did it?_

Returning to her own quarters, Eska looked into her mirror, piercing blue eyes looking into their own image, as if wishing to use the same cold, icy blue gaze to dig into her own soul and find the answers there. But of course, it did not work. It merely confused her even more. Why was she like this? Was her brother right? Has she truly grown atta- **No! Of course she hasn't! Why would she have?** It was a preposterous thought.

Still, as with a sigh, she turned away from the mirror, having accepted it would not give sufficient answers, her eyes fell onto her wardrobe in the corner of her room. It held nothing special, mostly the same outfit she usually wore, except maybe with a few adjustments here and there for different occasions or slight color changes, but looking at the slightly ajar doors right now, Eska's gaze met the outfit her aunt and uncle sent for her latest birthday. Back then, she thought it to be far below her to wear anything like that, keeping it only out of goodwill for her relatives. Now, however…

"Maid!" She called, prompting her personal maid to appear in the room at a moment's notice, bowing deeply while she entered the door.

"Yes, your highness?"

"Help me with something." She ordered, receiving an obedient, yet slightly confused nod from the servant.

* * *

Leaving Roka's clinic with a slight smile, Mako thanked the elderly woman, who informed him that about one or two more sessions would do the trick for his arm to be completely healed. She was optimistic most likely, but he didn't doubt her abilities. Moving his fingers gently, the firebender stared down at his bandage-wrapped hand and forearm, inspecting the feeling of his limb. It held no pain and before she wrapped it in bandages, Roka showed him how the scars themselves seemingly became less pronounced.

"They would never truly disappear, I am afraid." She said softly. "But at least the pain will no longer plague you."

"I can always wear a glove." He responded with a small smile, prompting the woman to chuckle.

"That's the spirit. I will see you tomorrow, then."

Nevertheless, thoughts swirled in his mind about what came next. He mostly pondered on Roka's words concerning his issue. He had to be focused on the case right now, but she was right.

He was not invulnerable.

He couldn't protect _everyone_ he wished, even though he attempted to with all that he could. Sooner or later, a time would come to apprehend this killer and, seeing his abilities before, Mako doubted he would be able to defend himself, much less someone else, if it came to a brawl. His left hand, though feeling fine now, he was sure was still not suitable to bend with. And that was not even counting how the cold weakened his firebending even more. At this point, if the assassin attacked, he would have nothing to protect anyone.

Nearing Eska's residence, over and over a single thought came to Mako's mind. It would mean far less risk, if only he continued on. Roka was right. In this position, he was, even though it was sad to admit, a cripple. And a cripple had no ability to protect others, much less those he cared fo-…considered to be good partners in important matters. Yes. _That_.

Approaching his destination, the detective came to a final decision. Just before he spotted Eska standing near the gates…

…in an outfit that sent a chill down Mako's spine.

To call it a _'Korra costume'_ would have been an understatement. Eska's regular choice of clothing was nowhere to be seen in this new, strange getup, which mimicked each detail almost perfectly, only bearing some changes in color where it wasn't very noticeable anyways. Baggy pants, boots, arm-bands, a tighter top than the coat he usually saw the chief wear and most of all, her hair styled in a way to look exactly like Korra's own after she cut it. Slightly longer and the tiniest more refined and elegant, than the Avatar's own, but other than that, it was almost shockingly similar looking. And it seemed suspiciously deliberate. As if this entire thing was not accidental.

Seeing his surprised and confused expression, Eska took a few steps towards him, tilting her head to the side curiously, which made the detective even more confused. This meld of two people so different was really a sight to behold, though Mako has yet to decide whether it was marvelous or frightening. The Avatar's choice of clothing, coupled with the northern chieftain's emotionless face and slightly more expressive stare created a sight quite unusual indeed. Though it did not seem to bother her.

"Good morning, Mako. You seem frightened. Is everything alright?" She questioned, head tilted to the side still in curiosity.

"Wha-uh…no, no. G-good morning to you too. It was just…surprising to see you in this outfit." He responded, gesturing slightly towards her with his right hand, still unable to decide whether it looked good on her or whether he would have nightmares about this later. Though, were the comparison not slightly disturbing, he had to admit, the outfit… _suited_ her. A far cry from her usual style, but… _okay, let's just stop with the confusing thoughts and refocus, shall we?_ He suddenly asked himself internally. _Yes. We should._

"Oh, this? It was a present from my aunt, I decided it was a good time to try it." She responded, turning around once to give him a quick look, doing so with all the enthusiasm he felt appropriate from her. "Do you like it?" She blurted out the last part and for once in her life, almost clamped a hand to her mouth. Why did she ask him that? Surely she was uninterested in his opinion and only asked that to…to…why _did_ she ask that?

"Y-yeah, i-it looks good on you…" Mako felt slightly embarrassed, but managed to swallow the lump of ice that somehow got stuck in his throat. "I-it looks, uh…different, but good. N-not that your regular clothes don't look good, uh, nevermind, I have something I need to talk to you about."

At that moment, for a reason beyond her recognition, Eska's heart skipped a beat. More out of surprise than anything, but hearing Mako tell her how he liked her regular outfit sent into her mind a sense of…pride? Maybe joy? But the reason for that was unknown. She had no idea why it felt good to hear him say that. Of course a commoner would admire her elegant style, even if it was slightly corrupted by cousin Korra's _rougher_ look, so why did this compliment feel nice to hear?

"What is it?" She asked, quickly moving her thoughts away from the more…embarrassing matter, scolding herself inwardly for doing such a silly thing as to imitate her cousin. And for what purpose exactly? She had no clear idea, only that it was connected to the person standing in front of her right now. Beyond that, she was at a loss for words for it. But why? Why did she do something so clearly without a purpose, yet somehow feeling right in a certain confusing way? That answer, for some reason, completely eluded her.

"You can't come with me for the rest of the investigation." For a moment, the detective could swear her eyes widened, if only the tiniest bit. The rest of her expression remained apathetic, but her eyes conveyed the slightest hint of surprise in them. Which, when speaking of Eska, meant much more than it seemed to.

"What would be the reason for that?"

"It's just too dangerous. So far, we've been following a thin lead, but right now, we might be walking into a trap and I can't let that happen. I know you want to help, but I need you to stay away for now." Mako sighed, having anticipated something like this.

"I would disagree. I think we make a decent team in our investigation."

"But so far, it's only been looking for clues and connections between the victims and killings. If it came to a fight between us and the assassin, I have doubts that I'd be able to protect you with this arm and in this environ-" He wanted to explain to her why he felt it necessary for her to stay away, but she interrupted.

"I require no protection. You, however, could use some help along the way." Her voice was sharper, loaded with something resembling…anger? No. Sadness? Not quite either. But then what? He couldn't quite guess, only feel that it was most unusual for her and that it felt bad to see her like this.

"Look, I understand how you want to see this through and help out, but it would be far less risky if you stayed here, in your home, while I look for the killer. I don't want you to be in danger." He spoke, voice softer now. Not that this was unanticipated, seeing how stubborn Eska previously was about joining him, but this time, he just knew she had to understand his point. The case was getting more and more severe by the day and truly, right now, they might walk into their own doom if they went together. However, even if something happened to him, Mako figured she'd be able to complete the investigation based on what they found together without putting herself into danger.

"I have no care for risks. Only for this killer to be found."

"That won't happen if we both get ourselves killed!" He snapped at once, wishing she could just understand. Wishing she could just accept his point, without her stubborn nature intervening. Why was she so set on finding the killer with him herself? Why could she not understand he was doing this to protect her?!

For once, he saw her lips tighten slightly and her gaze become the closest to anger he has ever seen her before. A long silence followed, after which she spoke in a voice, that sounded both softer and rougher than her usual tone.

"Do what you wish."

Then she turned and without another sound, stepped back into the building of her personal residence, her steps still dignified, but, as he noted, somewhat quicker than usual. Regardless, at least she was accepting of his decision, allowing the detective to sigh and leave for the next suspect's residence.

He knew she would understand eventually.

She had to.

It was better this way.

At least that was what Mako told himself, his mind, however, was focused on different things. Even though he attempted to keep his thoughts on the main task at hand, his mind was drawn back repeatedly to their last conversation. It was so strange, especially her clothes, but in a way, it was… _nice_?

Regardless, he eventually reached the building he was looking for, following Eska's instructions from the previous day and entered, the guards pulling aside after the firebender told them what business he had with the minister.

"Oh, of course. I hope I will be of some help, though I seriously doubt." The man said.

He was a short man, named Baroque. From what Mako heard, his main interest was in trading and was appointed the economic minister of the water tribe under Unalaq's rule. However, his latest political exploits suggested he opposed the new chiefs' rule.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I hope this can be dealt with quickly, so I'm not taking up too much of your time unnecessarily." Mako said, as he was led to a large room, filled almost to the brim with documents.

"This is the archives room. If any one of my employees is connected to the case you are investigating and it was documented, you will find it here." He said, stepping away from the door to allow Mako inside. "I hope you will find what you are looking for, detective. It is such a shame to see someone terrorize our great city like this. Simply disgusting."

Stepping inside, the detective sighed, feeling the last few hours of pressure bearing down on him. Alone, he would be able to find the killer and solve the case without putting others at risk.

However, he took no further than three steps inside the room, when his entire body was shook with a shiver.

And he heard that familiar, bone-chilling scream.


	11. Howl of the Banshee

Disclaimer: THIS IS NOTMIIIINE! *sound of persians being kicked into a hole* (Well, more specifically, 'THIS' refers to any copyrighted content, such as main characters, themes and the universe, except for my own aditions, but that's a lengthy explanation not quite fitting the 300 reference.)

Author's notes: And helloooooo my pretties! I hope you all enjoyed my latest chapter and have been waiting for this next one. Tell you the truth, I was slightly nervous about the way I led this story, but the positive feedback I received motivated me to keep going and finish the story, despite the difficulties that rose to stop me in the final months of 2016. And thus, a new chapter, a new episode of this adventure commences, with my hopes being that you will like itt o the very end. As I always say: ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

The sound was… _indescribeable._ It sounded like the roar of Naga, combined with the hiss of an eel hound and the howl of one of Tenzin's flying bisons, but beyond that, it had something in it that Mako just could not imagine existing. As if the spirits themselves came to shake the life out of him with this banshee-like scream. His body felt as if it was paralyzed, not just out of fear, but by the waves of invisible force hitting him in the back, creating a feeling very similar to that confrontation he had on the first day…

And thus, as his legs were swiped from under him and his torso was grabbed by two thin, yet strong hands, slamming him onto the ground, Mako looked up, with a groan, witnessing a sight he never believed to find.

Standing not too far away was Baroque, hands folded in front of his chest, with his best attempt at a stern look. But Mako was perceptive enough to witness his slightly twitching cheek muscle and his eyes, cast to the side. Then his eyes trailed higher and saw the demonic entity standing above him. The sight was as terrifying as the witness from a few days ago explained. Tall, thin body, grey clothes that looked like some kind of special combat uniform designed for stealth and agility, with light armor in some places, like the shoulders. Above the shoulders meanwhile, sat the head covered in a metal mask, its face a twisted grin of sadistic happiness. As if the mask itself was happy to see the detective. Or to cause him pain.

"Well, hello there, detective. Long time no see, eh?" Songtan questioned in a mocking tone, before delivering his left foot with considerable force straight into Mako's face, causing his vision to go blurry, as well as pain to erupt from his cheeks, punctuated by a faint feeling of cool, fresh blood slowly dripping from the cut caused by the assassin's boot. "But unfortunately, this is the end. You've gotten too close to the flame and now, you burn. Heh, ironic, isn't it?" He taunted, leaning forward and reaching for the neck of his opponent.

Still dizzy, but unwilling to give up, Mako pushed himself up, ignoring the pain his wounded arm felt, the other one desperately trying to bend flame, aiming at the masked madman, however, Songtan precisely sidestepped and grabbed Mako's wrist, twisting his arm and slamming a hand into his elbow, nearly snapping it backwards, causing another pained grunt to escape the firebender's throat.

"Oh, none of that. I had quite enough of you." The assassin chuckled, shoving Mako back down on the ground and landing a kick on his body again, this time, into his stomach. Both the painful grunt and the attacker's sadistic enjoyment of it seemingly unnerved Baroque enough to speak.

"I think torture is unnecessary, Songtan. Just kill him and be done with it." The minister spoke, drawing a sharp stare from the assassin, his masked face turning to stare at him, as he continued. "I…I do not want any more blood to be spilled here. Just deal with him quickly."

A slight hiss was all he received as a response at first, before the mercenary spoke again, his voice sounding far less happy than before. "Shut up, ' _minister'._ You'll receive your pretty princess head soon too, but for now, let me do what you paid me for the way I like to do it." He growled, moving his arms quickly, sending a sharp wave of air into Mako's chest, causing him to cough violently, clutching at the spot the forceful gust of air hit. Baroque, though visibly disturbed by the thought of witnessing murder right in front of him, stepped away, clearly unwilling to try and hold back his hired murderer.

As Songtan stepped up to him, Mako tried struggling against his attacker, while the grey gloved hands grabbed him, pulling him up into a somewhat seated position by the neck, as one of the two produced a small knife from a pouch on the assassin's belt. "Oh, I wish I could make you scream, but it wouldn't be wise for me to do here. Sorry about that, little detective." The masked man said, his tone seemingly conveying sadness, sounding apologetic even. As if he was genuinely feeling sorry towards Mako for not being able to make him scream. "Can't have the guards coming here, you know. Oh well." His voice at the end, rather suddenly, turned cheery as well, while the knife came closer and closer to the detective's throat. "Maybe I'll send one of your fingers to the little princess that's been running around with you through the city. Or your nose. Hmmm, maybe your tongue. But alas, time to-"

As he was about to drag the sharpened blade across the exposed throat of Mako, suddenly the both of them were sent tumbling against the nearest wall by a force unseen by both. Or at least they would've, had the grey clad man not jumped away in the last second, leaving his almost unconscious victim to be washed away in the wave of water, slamming him against the wall with a shout of pain. Looking at the doorway, he saw an unbelievable sight. Eska stood, dressed still in that unusual outfit he previously saw her in, hands outstretched, bending the water and ferociously twisting it around, sending wave after wave at the assassin, forcing him on the defensive. Near her feet lay Baroque, hands and feet encased in ice, while the chief kept up her aggressive assault.

"I shall have you encased in ice before you lay a single finger on anyone else." She called, clearly fed up with the insolent killer's evasive murder spree, though the fight seemed fairly even despite her determined words and stern expression. Mako could see her attacks as less elegant and balanced than he remembered seeing them before.

"Oh, speak of the evil spirit and she shalt appear. That makes my job so much easier, princess!" Songtan cackled, slipping past a long tendril-like formation of water, rushing at the chief with speed unparalleled by anything Mako has ever seen. Eska dodged backwards, leaping away from a kick aimed at her chest, before slipping to the side, just as a sharp wave of air came right at her from Songtan, coming close enough to ruffle her hair slightly.

"You will find me to be much more threatening than a mere spirit, beast." Eska's voice rang clearly, her eyes glancing to the side, spotting Mako's attempts to shakily stand up, grunting in pain from the strikes he took. Her defiant retort, however, was soon met with another mad cackle and another airwave aimed at her face. She raised a wall of ice, letting the attack crash against it and was startled slightly, her eyes widening a little as the blast she assumed would be stopped with no effort, actually managed to nearly shatter the protective wall, as deep cracks appeared throughout the entire structure, punctuated by another snicker from the sadistic killer.

"Threatening you are, but what will you do with someone unafraid of ghosts?" Songtan taunted, aiming another shot at her, before Eska managed to regain her composure, turning the icy wall back into water and split it into two long tendrils, rushing the assassin's hands in order to stop him from using his bending abilities. She focused all of her attention on him, hoping he could be subdued, but she began to doubt herself. This man was graceful, agile and precise, a form of ruthless elegance evident in his fighting style. She noted reminiscence of the agility and knack for evasion of airbenders, but his movement held evidence of a ruthless desire to harm and kill, something quite unlike any monks of the air nomads she has ever seen.

Still, as the tendrils held firmly onto his hands, beginning to crawl up the grey clad arms, Eska grew hopeful. From the way Songtan appeared to struggle with his bonds, the chief of North became optimistic about the situation, but it was only for a moment, before the masked man pulled his hands in front of his own face and taking in a long breath.

A terrifying shriek that seemed to be inhuman came from his mouth, hands amplifying the strength of the soundwave vibrations, sending it through the water tendrils, causing Eska to let out a loud shriek of surprise and pain, as the vibrations crashed into her arms connected to the water she bent, feeling as if the bones in her forearms and hands were being broken from the inside of her arm. She pulled both hands away from the water and grasped desperately at her forearms, the water splashing harmlessly onto the ground.

A fist to her face quickly followed from the side, as Songtan ran across the room in seemingly no more than a mere second, before a quick sweep of his leg and another slam of his fist into her chest immediately after sent Eska to the ground with a grunt of pain, her head slamming painfully against the icy floor, knocking her unconscious. Songtan quickly took another knife from his belt and was ready to cut Eska's throat immediately, before, strangely, Baroque himself yelled at the murderer.

"Wait! Stop!" The man called, his face at once frightened. "Do you hear this?!" And as the room became devoid of sounds, all three present and currently conscious heard the boots of guards slamming against the ground, the noise becoming louder as they were getting closer. "Damn it, don't kill her now, take her down to the basement of the building." Baroque suddenly instructed, receiving an agreeing, yet somewhat disappointed nod from the madman, who grabbed Eska's unconscious body and hoisted her over his shoulder, making Mako question how such a thin man could lift another person so easily. "Take that one too. Kill them both later, it would be suicide now." Baroque nervously continued, pointing at the detective, who Songtan quickly approached and, upon seeing the firebender raise his arm in defense, aimed a precise kick at his face, with the last image of Mako being the grey boot coming right at him…

…and then everything went dark.

* * *

…

Nothing…

Nothing at all, but silence and blackness.

That was all that surrounded him for a long time. It all seemed…peaceful. He seemed alone with his thoughts, but for some strange reason, he was unable to recall how exactly it happened that he reached this place, or how long he was here for. It was only emptiness…and his thoughts.

But as soon as he began to think back to the path he took to be in this… _place_ …(He was not even sure this was a place itself.) his memories became slowly, yet painfully clear.

He saw images, glimpses of his memories, guessing maybe it was a blow to the head that scrambled his mind somewhat, but retracing his steps to the point in time this occurred seemed possible. He saw Eska first…strange, as his memories on how he came to be close to Eska seemed fuzzy looking back. Why was he with her? He was…helping with something…that slowly became clear. But why? Was he sent by Lin? Despite the fact he clearly seemed to remember that prior to his head injury, some help of Eska was occurring, Mako couldn't find the reason why. As if he couldn't find reason for it even back then. Besides it being…being important. And right by his own admission.

Then came the details. It was about death. Lots of deaths. And Eska…she…she almost died too. And then he remembered being with her…investigating…something. Oh, how it made his head hurt, especially in the back. Or was it the head injury? Could be both.

Regardless, Mako grit his teeth and endured the pain, forcing his mind to remember, to recall something, _anything_ useful from the past few days or weeks that could lead him to a clear answer as to where he was and why.

Looking through more images, Mako slowly reconstructed the past few weeks' events, but his understanding of them remained hazy. As if he was reading a storybook filled to the brim with pictures, but he couldn't fully connect emotions to the characters on said pictures, as he wasn't there himself. Thus, the look on his actions became somewhat strange for him and he began to question some of his decisions, almost asking himself ' _Was I really such a reckless idiot?_ ' on several occasions. Yet, as he came to understand the situation around him, something began to stir in him. Looking through more memories of his encounters with the Chief of North, the question kept resurfacing. Why was he still helping her with this? Not initially, his original involvement was completely understood by now, but as he began to recall his conversation with Lin and his newer findings of the man they were after, especially after remembering that Eska, upon reaching doubt of his method's effectiveness, offered to replace him in the investigation, he began to ask himself why he didn't take this opportunity.

He clearly bit off more than he could chew and with his injury, it was a ballsy move to continue the investigation just with the intent of uncovering the truth, let alone with the idea of apprehending the killer himself. And yet, he kept doing it, because of…why exactly? Was it hurt pride caused by his previous failures and a desire to prove himself to Eska and Lin later? No, he never imagined himself to be so selfish. At least he hoped so. Was it plain stubbornness about protecting his own ideas of the procedure? A little bit closer, but this answer left Mako…unsatisfied. As if he felt like it wasn't the only answer. That something else contributed to his determination, something that might have been even bigger than hurt pride or stubbornness. Besides a desire to help.

' _Still haven't realized you're totally in love with her?!'_ Came another voice, which strangely resembled his brother's. Wait, what? Was he going mad? No…this was just a thought, materialized as a voice in his own mind, nothing more…Mako hoped.

' _Don't be ridiculous. Why would that happen?'_ He replied, strangely, without feeling his lips moving. So it was a thought. An annoying and completely inappropriate thought. Yet, as he responded so vehemently, he began to doubt himself slightly, asking questions internally…which seemed to only invigorate _Bolin_ 's already irritatingly confident tone concerning his brother's desires about a certain someone.

' _I'm not ridiculous, you're simply afraid to admit it!'_ The voice called back. _'Just think about it, you guys have been hanging out for a while, mostly only talking to each other and you can admit it, you began to feel something for her.'_ The other voice replied, annoyingly cheerful. As if it was happy.

' _And so what? We became good partners in work because we worked together for a while, that's it.'_ He angrily retorted, but the argument would not end so easily.

' _Oh, don't lie to me, "detective" because I'll know. I'm your brother…sorta, afterall. You like her, don't even try and hide it.'_ The voice called again, somehow even more annoying than it used to be, as it seemed to snarkily revel in the idea that Mako found himself feeling something he never expected…especially towards someone like Eska.

' _Okay, don't get me wrong, but why would I like her? I mean, besides the obvious and what happened to you, I only spent my time with her time searching for a homicidal maniac. I'd hardly call those times enough to start feeling anything like what you're describing.'_ Mako retorted desperately, slightly frightening himself as he rolled with its game and addressed his own thought as his brother. Well, not like Bolin would say anything different in a situation like this, he guessed. Clearly, this thought was caused by the head trauma and was simply invading his mind's more embarrassing ideas. And yet, as this back and forth occurred, he slowly began to ponder these thoughts. Just why was this internal argument even happening? Well, because what this thought was proposing was pure madness and he attempted to reject it, of course. But why was he even thinking it? Surely, he had to have thought it if one of his thoughts was giving him these ideas inside his head…haven't he? He was getting confused.

Though, upon closer inspection, he had to admit, he came to understand Eska and her behavior far better than he previously did. Mostly when they talked during their dinner together, which ' _Bolin_ ' wasted no time to insufferably remind him of, but even during their professional time together, Mako began to slowly see through the veil of apathy, possessiveness and seemingly lack of care about anything besides her own interests that he originally saw her under. If anything, he had to admit, he…got to know her better to some degree. But that didn't mean more than the two of them getting along well…better than when they first met anyways. Or did it?

Thinking this over, further thoughts began to invade his mind. He felt somewhat sorry for Eska due to her sheltered and closed off upbringing, her being always alone except for her brother being most likely the source of her…awkward nature. And yet, he couldn't help, but also admire her wish to help the people of her tribe, both because of responsibility and a sense of compassion he didn't really get from her previously. Yet, as the image of Eska comforting the sole witness a few days prior flashed in his mind, there was no doubt in his mind, Eska did care about her people. And that was something he always admired in leaders. Unlike Unalaq…or…and that thought made him shiver, as an image quite older than recent memories, but still frightening took over his mind for a mere moment. That pale, emotionless face…no, mask. That pale mask, the emotionless stare of its black eyes, its eternal frown of disgust and dejection at all people different from its wearer and the intents behind it…a stark contrast from the current mask he was dealing with. Yet soon, as if impatient to receive its own description, the other one soon appeared.

It was grey, for starters, from chin to forehead and from what he had seen, was shaped much more like a helmet, meaning it might have been permanent, were it not for the small straps he noted near the sides. But the biggest differences came in the form of its face and emotions conveyed through it. The…first one held clear disdain for all benders, yet carried a certain aura of majesty and feeling of highness in spirit, as if the wearer thought he was deserving of more than benders, thus the slight ornate decorations and the red circle on its forehead, almost resembling some religious symbol. Unlike that, the second one carried simplicity, yet a deceiving air of happiness about it. Concerning the acts its wearer committed and how many people he committed it against caused happiness on the level it displayed to be a disturbing emotion to have. Its mouth was curved into the widest smile Mako has ever seen, seemingly inhuman, reminding the detective of an old story he heard as a child, of a certain 'chess cat' or something, that had a smile similar to this one. Its grin was punctuated by the eyes, which, akin to masks Mako has seen used in comedic stage plays, curled slightly upwards, as if to further convey the overwhelming and true happiness its wearer felt during what he was doing. And the thought of that sickened the firebender. That relentless, sadistic joy in his work Mako couldn't imagine finding in any other person. At least, not in any sane person.

And yet, as more memories came back to him, seeing the situation clearer by the second, the detective sighed to himself. Just how did he get into this? Fighting a fight that wasn't his, trying to solve a case while on vacation and crippled, in a land he felt morbidly held back by, spending time with a woman he, at best, felt uncomfortable around before and yet, thinking back, he could only associate good thoughts with the chief's presence around him now. Sure, they started off rough, but getting to know Eska, the point of his 'brother' came clear, without Mako wondering why the other voice suddenly fell silent. She was a little strange at first, but he had to admit, her company was pleasant and her help was more than useful during the investigation. And at once, his worries came back and he began to wonder where she might be. They were together before he was knocked unconscious, though he didn't know how or why he remembered that, but that wasn't the point. The point was, where was she now? Why was she missing and…just where was _he_ in the first place? But the answer didn't come soon. Instead, he just felt more emptiness, as the darkness stared back at him.

Only…after a while, a faint voice broke through the abyss, repeating a specific word a few times. No, wait, it was more specific. It was a…name. It took him a short time to realize it was his name. And for even longer, he couldn't identify the voice. But it was familiar. He began to follow it, seeing no better options other than this, feeling the darkness slowly dissipate.

* * *

"Mako…Mako!" Eska's voice called to him as the detective slowly opened his eyes. Immediately, he felt different than before. The darkness he resided in previously felt strange, but soft, warm and a little welcoming. This new place was, for starters, cold. Very cold. And hard. Like ice. And, as he soon came to realize, it was. Looking around, Mako noted the two of them were locked in some kind of cell in a dark chamber, most likely underground, no windows or other openings to the outside, with only a small light source on the ceiling.

"Mako?" Soon after, he glanced to his left and spotted Eska, kneeling not too far away from him, seated on her heels comfortably. Her appearance, however, was a stark contrast from her usual demeanor. She looked sad for the most part, but never before has he seen her express sadness this much. Her face carried the clear signs of despair, a slowly approaching acceptance of her situation, as well as slight terror. Seeing him move, she moved slightly closer, a slight, almost shy smile creeping onto her face. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked and once more, he was baffled. Her voice was its previously unusual tone, but even more so than the way he has already gotten used to over the last couple of days. As if great relief just washed over her as he opened his eyes.

Slowly moving the rest of his body besides his head, Mako moved from his current sitting position, grunting in slight pain as he felt a sharp sting at the back of his head, as well as something slightly wet against it. Yet, he stayed all the determined. "I…I think so. What…what happened?" He asked, wanting to both find out the current situation's circumstances and drive the conversation away from his health. He didn't like seeing her like this. Sad and scared.

"The guards came to investigate the noise, I assume. As much as I can gather, we were moved into a storage room beneath the building." She elaborated, moving her clasped together hands slightly, which revealed to Mako why she held them the way she did. They were shackled together, with her hands both covered and held in place by metallic 'gloves' that were forced onto her hands, attached to the shackles. Looking down, Mako spotted the same kind of contraption on his own, not needing any more hints to figure out their purpose. They were there to restrict bending and thus, make escape impossible. "As I was waking up, I overheard that we would be killed soon after nightfall. I assume it will be soon, as it has been, by my assumption, hours ago." And during that final sentence, he unmistakably heard slight fear in her voice. And it sounded dangerously similar to the fear he felt. "This is…not the way I imagined it would happen."

"Okay, hold on, we aren't done yet, we'll figure it out." The firebender said, using all the restricted movement he was capable of to move next to her. Unlike any previous occasions when this happened during their investigation, she didn't move away, nor even flinch aside. She merely looked at him with those sad eyes. Well, at least she was showing some kind of emotion, though he decidedly agreed with himself that it was not an emotion that looked good on her. "We'll make it through, don't worry, we just need to-" At that moment, however, she interrupted him.

"Please, it is useless. I have tried many things while you were unconscious. Bending through the bonds, bending without my hands, calling out to see if anyone would come to help, even smashing the bonds against the wall, hoping they would break…" He glanced to the side, as she said, spotting a small dent and a few cracked spots in the icy wall, most likely where she smashed her bonds into it. "All to no avail. It seems there is nothing left but to accept our fate."

Mako couldn't believe his ears. Eska was many things, but not a pushover. Throughout most of the investigation, given how he was incapacitated when it came to bending, usually she brought the muscle and the bending required, when situations have gotten forceful a fair few times. Her being scared and giving up was frightening to him, but he refused to give up. Slowly, with a few grunts of pain, he rose to his feet, taking a few small, careful steps around the room. "Like Hell we will. We'll get out, get help and put those two criminals behind bars." He confidently declared, sighing as he observed the only way out of this room, a metal door that looked like it belonged to a vault, judging from the way it looked from the inside, but it was locked and the whole thing seemed like it was designed to deter intruders from accessing the chamber, so the detective quickly gave up on trying to smash it open with a shoulder. "We'll be free and everything will be okay soon, you'll see."

"I wish I could share your optimism." Eska's sad response came, prompting him to turn around towards her, wanting to retort with something snappy about optimism or foolishness or pessimism, but…

As soon as he looked at her, his body seemed to freeze. His mind stopped in that sad, depressing moment. She seemed to still carry the same apathetic expression, but he could see through it. To him, she looked sad. And lost. And he decidedly hated seeing her like this. Upon looking at her more, he swore that a small, lone teardrop rolled down her cheek. Moving closer, Mako sat down next to her again with a sigh, deciding that comforting her, an act he never imagined as necessary, much less for someone like him to do, was the best idea out of everything.

"If…if I am killed…" Eska started, looking at him and her eyes conveyed more than fear for herself. They spoke of her worry about far more than just her own life. "…Will Desna be targeted? What happens to our people if we are gone?" She asked, sounding confused, scared and worried. "I do not want that. Not now, not ever."

With a sigh, he looked into those sad, yet still sparkling, blue orbs that were her eyes and did his best to think of something optimistic and uplifting to say. "Well, look, we don't know what their plan is as a whole, but we know who they are and I promise you, we'll get them for what they did to you and your people. I promise you that."

"What use is a promise that cannot be kept, Mako?" She responded, noticing his attempts to catch her gaze and, for the first time in a long while, it was her that evaded. "You cannot ensure our escape and that monster's capture, but neither can I. It is time we accept the truth. We have no chance. I don't see how you can still believe in false hopes. We were confronted by that foul man and we were outmatched. I certainly don't see anything to be so hopeful about."

Mako sighed, taking in a breath right after to respond accordingly, not willing to give up, but having realized that he was fighting an uphill battle. She clearly held no more defiance. As if her usual, strong and somewhat stubborn side has been erased by the horror of being killed by that mad assassin. And he was doubtful of their ability to make it out alive himself, but no matter how dark everything seemed, the firebender kept telling himself to not give up. For the Northern Water Tribe. For himself. For… _her_. Like he was trying to keep a candlelight alive in an icy wind. How ironic…but then she continued speaking.

"I…I will miss many things. My brother…our great city…the sight of the sky…" Her voice was still slightly telling of despair, but it seemed she wished to heed his words, so much as to at least think of happy things. Or attempt to, at the very least. Then, she turned towards him. "…you…I think…" She fell silent right after and Mako felt like he either should say something or feel incredibly flustered that she counted him amongst the people she would miss after death. Well, would both work? It seemed so. But, honestly, it was just fear and her familiarity with him speaking, wasn't it? She would forget him a week after he went home after solving this case…right?

Right?

"You know…a wise old man once told me…" He was lying, of course. Korra told him. But Korra said that a wise old man she met told her this, so…it counted. It at least attracted her attention enough to prompt one of her eyebrows to rise slightly, her eyes gazing intently into his. "… If you look for the light, you can often find it. But if you look for the dark, that is all you will ever see." He spoke softly, keeping eye contact as he told her. He observed her visage and, for once, caught himself admiring her. Not just in a physical sense, but in terms of her situation and actions. He saw and heard her go through so many things as both princess and chief, he was sure he would've snapped like a twig under all that pressure. And yet, she held herself together during those dark times,…only to snap now. He couldn't let that. He had to do his best to change the situation. Both to figure out a way for escape and to help her out of the pit she felt herself in. So, he imagined he'd elaborate, seeing as she seemed to be curious enough for an explanation.

"I'm not a philosopher, but…I think it means…you can't just wait for hope to find you. You have to find it yourself." A slight, shy nod urged him on, telling him she was listening. "I mean…optimism and hope aren't things that you just have. It's whether or not you can see the good in a situation or not…" He was sure he wasn't making as much sense as he wished he did, but what else was there to do other than try to dig himself out of this cell by smashing his head against the wall enough times? What she said next, however, made him gasp quietly in surprise.

"Well…you are here." She spoke, her voice much less sad now, yet still carrying that softness. As if…as if she was slowly regaining her composure, yet not at all sounding apathetic. "Your company is…pleasant…and…good…" It was awkward. Really awkward. He knew that. And so did she. But what the Hell? For all the both of them knew, they would either die tonight or be traumatized for the rest of their lives by what they already witnessed. So what was there to lose or hide?

"I…I like spending time with you…though we haven't done terribly much outside of work. You are…a pleasant person to…be around." She spoke and for the first time ever, he could've sworn a slight blush made its way onto her cheeks, barely visible against her skin tone. He felt the same. Hot in the cheeks and…slightly warm? Well, what she was saying did make him feel good, at the very least.

"I…I feel the same way…you know…it's…it's nice…to be with you." He smiled slightly, feeling happy that she seemed somewhat less depressed than before. Maybe his words were working? He made a note to thank Korra if they made it out of here alive. "I promise you, I won't give up. Not on this land, not on…you." And there he was again, saying things his regular mind would've found weird, but somehow…it felt right to say these things now. "I'll do my best to…to help you…and to stop those two."

She stared into his eyes intently and leaned slightly closer, her face just inches away from his. If he didn't know her any better, his first assumption would've been that she wanted to kiss him...well, she actually _looked like_ it, but that was most likely impossible.

Of course, a moment later, she withdrew from him and kept gazing into his eyes, both curious and, for the first time, visibly happy, it seemed. "I trust you, Mako. And while I have my doubts, I think you might have a point." Her face took on the most subtle of smiles, but he noticed. It was a sweet thing to see on her again. A subtle smile was something he liked her wear. As if it could chase away all worries, because when Eska was smiling, he was sure times had to be happy indeed. Or, at least hopeful.

But, unfortunately, all good things eventually end. That is just the way of life.

"Oh, isn't this sweet?" Came a voice very familiar to the two from outside the room, but unobstructed by the walls or door, which, as they glanced, was already open, with _him_ standing close by. "It's almost too sweet to kill. Buuut…" He didn't finish his sentence, instead stepping quickly to the two and grabbing Eska by the collar, yanking her to her feet and starting to lead her out of the room. "I'll take you on a little walk, _Princess._ Don't worry, the good detective will be following you closely."

Before the two could reach the door, however, Mako got to his feet and called out to the madman. "Hey, let go of her. I won't let you hurt her." He declared, looking defiantly into the black abyss visible through the eyes of Songtan's mask. What was he doing? This was surely suicide. But he didn't care. What he cared for was the case, this city and…Eska. And he promised her he'd protect her. Thinking quickly, he glanced down at his hands, seeing them still bound, unable to move, one of them painfully protesting against the damaged bandages and the cold metal pressing tightly against it. He couldn't use his hands, or his feet, as looking down, he saw them being attached to each other via a semi-long chain, rendering them unable to use much firebending either, so he had noth-wait, that was it! He took in a breath slowly, eyes once again sending daggers right into the assassin's own.

The madman looked back at his newly risen opponent and for a moment, stopped in his tracks. As if he had to do a double take at what he was hearing. And, in a way, he was. The words made him snicker, then laugh slightly, then let out a loud, mad cackle, finding the prospect of a bound man threatening him to be the funniest thing he has ever heard or seen in a long while. "What?!" He demanded the answer with a voice still distorted by laughter. "Are you completely insane?" As if to provoke, with a quick movement of his arm, he used his elbow in a quick strike, aiming at Eska's face and immediately rendering her unconscious, before catching her mid fall, hoisting the slender girl onto his shoulder. "There. Now what will you do, spit at m-"

And that was what he just did. While Songtan talked and laughed, Mako focused all the strength he felt he could still muster and, upon seeing the masked maniac hurt Eska again, that strength seemed to multiply, increase as rage filled his mind, forcing all of his will onto one single directive. He would make the grey clad man into ashes before morning came. Focusing his strength through his throat, like a dragon wishing to burn its opponent to a crisp, fire burst out through Mako's mouth, like a breath of pure flame, aimed perfectly at him, ensuring a hit and the possible incapacitation, possibly even death of his opponent.

However, like a candlelight, this hope was soon extinguished, as with a blinding fast move of his hand, Songtan simply sent a strong gust of wind, perfectly aimed at the approaching firebreath and, with precision, sent it right back in the direction it came from, catching Mako in the face with it, stunning the surprised firebender and knocking him back to the ground. The pain was almost unbearable, as some of the flames hit his mouth, slightly burning his tongue and throat, as if he actually attempted to swallow a flame, though not too seriously. Some of his hair was burned and most of all, it seemed to extinguish his last hope at attacking the man.

"You idiot. Do you really think my hearing is that bad, I can't catch you huffing and puffing like a factory chimney, trying to breathe fire at me?" Songtan taunted, earning nothing but a look that promised murder and nothing else. "Not a bad try, though. I like you, detective. Maybe after I'm done with the little lady here, I'll let you try and fight me again, see how that works." He said, chuckling as he walked out of the room, shutting the door, with Eska on his shoulder, no doubt heading to kill her in some spectacle of sorts, as if she was merely another victim of the murder spree.

But now Mako knew.

He understood everything. The political murders, the many other deaths completely unrelated to throw the authorities off, all of it leading back to this madman and his employer, who was ready to cause so many people so much pain and suffering, simply to further an agenda of greed and hunger for power.

It angered him to no end.

Seeing Eska like that, remembering his promise, but also coming face to face with the reality that he was unable to do anything against this man only served to brew anger in Mako. It felt maddening. Like an itch that just won't go away, or a pain that…

The pain…

 _The pain._

Mako looked down at his hands and for once, remembered the reason he came here. He was powerless. He could do nothing in this state and came to the North to fix that. And ironically, he was met with more things rendering him unable to fight, unable to save anyone. That only served to fuel his rage even more. He looked up, at the door, as if merely willing it would cause the entire thing to burst into flames. Gritting his teeth, the detective stood again, an odd warmth crawling all over his body. As if fire was lit under his skin, throughout his entire body, causing intense pain, but also, the feeling of immense strength.

But this mad rage was not just out of his powerlessness. No. He felt it because this exact powerlessness prevented him from protecting someone…someone dear to him. The candle of hope he had been protecting was extinguished with a gust of wind, just like that.

"Eska…" He reminded himself. Here he was, struggling against his chains, pounding at the imaginary cell's walls, like the sea does at the sides of ships. And the anger just grew and grew, not willing to accept that she would die, simply because he was too weak to protect her.

"Eska…!" His voice called again, this time louder, more determined, as if calling out to her would wake the chief and allow her a way to escape. But nothing of the sort happened. Instead, it just helped to anger him more. From behind the candle in the dark, he felt he could hear something. A bellowing roar, akin to a dragon, he thought. The roar of an angry, furious dragon, determined to burn everything in its path.

"Eska!" Mako cried and at once, with rage burning through his entire body, took in a deep breath, then opened his mouth again, spitting a flame at least three times the size of the one he tried previously, melting the metal door to his prison in a few moments, arms outstretched and…wait.

Looking down, he spotted his bounds…previous bounds. In hot, red puddles on the floor, the clothes on his body charred around the spots where they previously were, on his wrists and ankles. His hands felt hot, but numb to pain. To physical, at least. His entire brain felt aflame with white hot fury and now, having melted his restraints by mere will alone, Mako ran out of his cell.

He would make that madman pay.

He would catch up to them and save her from that terrible fate. His body still felt on fire, but Mako didn't mind the heat. It gave him strength, determination, and the will to destroy that man for what he has done and what he was going to do unless he was stopped.

And as he rushed out of the building, blasting a couple of guards aside with quick fireblasts, he set out into the night, mind focused on one, single, very important task.

Saving Eska.


	12. Chilling fight on a night of Fire

Disclaimer: The author of this story hereby declares that he doesn't own any copyrighted material used in this story, such as the characters, places and themes not thought up by the creator of this story. And though the writer of this story would be happy to have some actual influence on the actual Nickelodeon series, he sadly acknowledges that such things are out of his reach or talent and thus accepts that he is simply using other people's written and animated materials for the sake of entertainment, without making any actual money off of it, thus infringing upon noon's copyrights.

Author's notes: Well, here we are. A bit later than I would have wanted, something for which I apologize profusely, but still. The chapter all of us have been waiting for since the very beginning ! (Or have we?) The moments this story has begun for! (Or did it?) This is truly the finest hour of our beloved story and characters! Or, well, is it? I don't know, I just wrote it. Your opinions of it decide whether it was good or bad. But anyway, enough chit chat, ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

Rage.

Boiling, white hot rage.

As if his entire body was being torn apart from the inside by the anger driving him mad, causing every bit of fire he bent to glow brighter, burn hotter and spread wider.

Mako focused on one, single goal, his mind and body bent to this single, yet unbelievably important task.

He would find that maniac, save Eska from him and burn the man alive for what he has done, both with them, and this city.

As he ran, his aim was towards one of the larger buildings a guard from the Baroque's estate pointed out to him. The man told him Songtan was headed that way and that was all the detective needed.

On his way, he noted how dark the sky has become. Have they really been in that room for so long? No matter. All that was important now was to find Eska and beat the assassin, even if he lost his scarred arm, which was hurting more and more with every passing second, all gone ignored by the firebender. No other thought could invade his mind, so full it was with that single, maddening idea. The need to be there, the need to save Eska along with the town, and the horrifying idea of his failure's consequences.

His skin felt as if it was lit on fire and the simple thought of losing this bout meant both worse pain and more determination to succeed. Or to die fighting for what he wished to save. To fight until either Songtan or him dropped to the floor, the life slipping from either body.

And as he thought this, his eyes spotted the building he was pointed to, noting the important placement in the city and the royal decoration it had, indicating it was most likely the residence of either Eska or Desna. And, with a short glance, he spotted a tall, lean figure on top, which he recognized as his target. Squinting, he could see a shorter figure right beside him, which filled him with some hope and a slight joy. At least there was still a chance. And he would take that and not let go.

Taking in a breath, Mako leapt into the air and, driven by a sudden idea, did his best to bend fire underneath himself, using both hands and feet, effectively propelling himself upwards with the slight rocketlike boost these gave his body, ascending quickly towards the grey clad maniac.

"Let her go you monster!" He heard himself shouting, though the entire scene felt so surreal. As if his mind felt foggy, though the reason eluded him. All the detective knew that he would protect Eska, no matter the cost. And that right here, right now, he would end this murderer's killing spree, even if that was the last thing he did. As soon as he reached the top of the building, Mako shifted his body, his right hand aimed towards Songtan, palm spewing fire at the madman in the long coat, the assassin jumping away at the last moment, putting distance between himself and the other two, while Mako rushed to Eska, catching the Chief as she fell to the floor.

"Eska!" He called, holding her gently, his eyes rapidly scanning her body for any wounds she could've suffered. She seemed relatively unharmed, but that did little to calm Mako's mind as she slowly opened her eyes, seeing his face before her, with a grunt of pain and a reflexive reach for her nose, rubbing it with a groan, while he was sure she wondered where she was taken.

"W-where-?" She groaned, prompting Mako to respond, or at least attempt to, before both of their attention was drawn to the other end of the rooftop, their eyes catching glimpse of Songtan pulling her burning long coat off and tossing it aside, the fire that started to consume the fabric providing light besides the moon. The assassin also pulled off his wide hat, dropping it on the ground and finally standing before them in all of his terrifying glory.

Mako noted that, though the mask was his most distinguishing feature, the rest of Songtan's visage was none the less unusual, though at least most of his attire could be attributed to his occupation, the dark grey clothing fitting his thin, long body like a glove, with various weapons strapped to his arms, legs, chest and back, though all of them, the detective noted, were small arms, daggers, knives, some spherical objects that were most likely smoke bombs, being the most prevalent. And, as always, his mask, wearing that same sadistic, cruel grin, though given the firey spectacle behind the man illuminating the area, it gave his metallic face a sort of otherworldly feel. As if Songtan truly was not human, hence his sickening enjoyment of causing destruction.

"Oh-ho, I underestimated you, 'detective.' You really are a fighter." The thin man laughed, producing a dagger from his left thigh and spinning it over his fingers, playing with the tool as if it were a mere toy, something Mako found disquietingly fitting. "Heh. Imagine the irony. The firebender actually has 'fire' in him left. Heheh."

"But this is where the road ends, 'detective.' This is where the case is closed and the killer dramatically escapes, leaving the lawman dying in a pool of his own blood." The madman continued, his speech theatrical, as if he were setting up a scene. It did little to hide his joy for the situation, even if his original plan would not come to fruition. "I was thinking you'd go mad in that cell, writhing around in rage, screaming for the princess, who never comes back, feeling lost, defeated and crushed before you die, but I was oh so deliciously wrong." At this point, feeling that he has heard enough, Mako extended his non-scarred hand, calling forth a blast of fire towards the killer, which was dodged with a speed already witnessed of him, but unlike any human Mako has ever seen. "And I am glad, you know. It would've been so boring to just stab you in the neck and be done with it, no. This, this will be _much_ more fun." Songtan chuckled after landing on his feet again, eyeing the two like a predator would its prey, the dagger spinning, spinning…

Then it was launched by an accurate, precise move of his hand, aiming straight at Mako, who in his surprise and desperation, pulled Eska closer by a subconscious effort to shield from both this and any further blades the assassin would toss their way, doing his best to buy the chief some time to possibly escape. His teeth were grit against each other and he prepared for the pain.

But it never came…

All that remained was the soothing sound of water, flowing freely, prompting Mako to look up and see the spectacle before his eyes.

A large tendril made purely of water was hovering just before him, held by Eska's bending, inside it, the short dagger the assassin hurled, completely encased in water and stopped in midair. Looking back at her, Mako spotted the tiniest, but noticeable hint of a smile on her face, prompting him to let one creep over his face as well, while helping the chief to her feet, the two of them determined, facing this menace together, as Mako realized, the way they should have from the start.

"Do not worry, Mako. I 'have your back' as they say." Her apathetic voice held no hint of distracting emotions, at least none concerning the man before them. She was focused, ready and willing. And so was he.

"Same here. Time to put this monster behind bars."

His words were only followed by an amused chuckle by Songtan, as well as a short verbal reply. "You flatter me, 'detective.'"

And then…

Then they fought.

Songtan rushed at them with inhuman speed, taking two new daggers from various sheaths on his body, dodging fire blasts and the swipe's of Eska's water tendril, effectively closing the distance between them in mere moments, the pointed tips of his blades aimed at the throats of his opponents. Mako dodged aside, following it up with a precise shot of fire at Songtan's abdomen, while Eska moved backwards, freezing water in front of her, stopping the blade, though only just so, as it pierced through the wall, only stopping when the hilt got stuck in it.

Songtan used the wall to launch himself into the air and flip his body, leaping over the fire from the side, while simultaneously aiming a kick at Mako. His limb did not quite reach the target, however, the blast of air it launched hit the detective in the face, forcing him backwards and almost to the ground, while Songtan landed, sidestepping the rushing water sent at him by Eska and throwing his second dagger in her direction, the chief's quick movements only able to save her from a full frontal hit, but the sharp weapon still managed to graze her right shoulder, drawing blood and a gasp of pain and surprise.

Now focusing his attention on the newly approaching firebender, evading a few punches and blocking two kicks, using gusts of air to misdirect or outright deflect the fire coming at him. As Mako rushed forward for a stronger attack in the form of a punch, however, Songtan sidestepped, grabbing his wrist and twisting it, drawing a grunt of pain from him, before, surprising both Eska and Mako, flipping over the firebender, rolling over his back and landing on the other side of him, raising his leg and slamming his foot in the side of his face just as his opponent was turning to see what the assassin was up to, driving the detective to the ground.

Now shifting his focus to the chieftain again, Songtan stepped out of the way from a water projectile, before retaliating with another few projectiles thrown in Eska's direction, lodging it deep into the icy wall she created before her, rolling forward immediately as the rooftop behind him began to break apart, shards of the icy surface trying to hit the back of the assassin, like sharp needles, some of them only barely missing by a few inches every time. Somehow, however, as Eska attempted to strike Songtan from spots outside his field of vision, the madman evaded each one, with a short flip or an agile leap, the water splashing harmlessly against the rooftop after missing him, the shards of ice embedding themselves into the surface they were standing on the same way, missing the murderous man by mere inches each time.

At the same time, Mako saw this as a prime opportunity to attack his foe. While he was distracted by Eska's barrage of techniques, surely it would force him to focus enough on her that a surprise blast of fire would catch him off guard, giving the detective the upper hand. And, as Songtan was leaping over another tendril of water sent at his legs, Mako focused as much of his strength as he could and aimed a ball of fire directly at the assassin's back, before doing his best to rush the man, fists at the ready.

However, as soon as the hurtling ball of flame was about to reach its target, the grey-clad body shifted just enough to allow the projectile to fly harmlessly by, avoiding any contact with the man's skin or even clothing, causing a gasp of disbelief and surprise to erupt from Mako's throat, though it did little to vanquish his determination to beat the man unconscious with his own bare hands if necessary. And thus, his fists were aimed and punches were thrown at his opponent, his muscles feeling hot under the skin, leaving a burning sensation for his entire body, with his mind disregarding it all, along with the growing pain in his joints.

However, his fists were time and time again, denied from hitting their mark, either an elbow or a palm blocking them as Songtan now turned, focusing his attention on hand to hand combat, while also inexplicably managing to evade any and all projectiles Eska carefully aimed at him, prompting Mako's disbelief in the natural existence of this man.

As if the spirits blessed him with a constant awareness of everything around him, be it terrain, people, elemental forces, everything. And it was obvious this supposed blessing happened a long time ago, for the mercenary mastered it with utmost precision and efficiency, managing to even taunt his enemies with a few short gestures or elegant, yet clearly mocking movements during their short bit of fisticuffs.

Finally, the grinning man twisted his body to the left, evading yet another one of Mako's punches, before, with a quick skip, dodged behind the detective and with a precise kick, launched him towards Eska, prompting Mako to stumble forward, then give in to gravity and, with a quick roll and a protective shot of fire behind him, rose to his feet beside the chief, his breath short and limbs in pain. His short, worried glance to Eska was met by an equally short, yet defiant look from her, indicating that she had no intention to flee and abandon him, no matter how much he would ask or plead with her. Realizing that this time, he could use all the help possible, Mako accepted defeat and nodded slightly, the two of them facing their adversary together.

"Oh, isn't it cute?" Songtan asked, his own chest rising and falling slightly faster than normal, indicating that, though not apparent and very little at best, the fighting did have an effect on him, if only slight tiredness due to the extent he had to bend and move his body to evade and block everything thrown his way. "Fire and ice is such a lovely companionship. They yearn for each other's feelings, yet can't touch each other, no matter how hard they try. Not without risking destruction altogether." The madman taunted with a cackle that suggested no sane mind, sidestepping another few of the two's attacks, his words continuing despite seemingly imminent peril. "And now…now they die beside each other, how poetic!" Ending this sentence was a terrifying laugh as finally, after minutes of doing nothing, but evading, Songtan rushed towards the two, demonstrating his skillfulness on both the offensive and defensive side of battle.

He effortlessly slid under a ball of fire Mako launched at him, just before slipping by a circular projectile formed of ice and thin as the edge of a blade, aimed to decapitate him, his quick run ending with a precise kick to Mako's gut, before his forearm blocked a swift strike from Eska's hand, which clutched a sharp dagger of ice in it, the tip nearly making a scratch in the target's metallic mask. Grabbing onto this hand presented to him, Songtan twisted it at the wrist, prompting the chief to cry out in intense pain, just before another strike from the firebender came, which the smiling killer also blocked, grabbed and, holding the two's hands in one of his own and with remarkable strength not yet showcased by his actions, threw the two over himself with a quick twist of his body, pull of his arms and the lowering of his entire frame via crouching, causing the pair to land on their backs and sides, groaning from the pain colliding with the hard ice rooftop caused, as Songtan once again leapt away, choosing to mock his opponents once more as they struggled to their feet together, Eska grasping her partner's shoulder as his limbs were slightly shaking, both from pain and exertion.

"You're so noisy, you know. Not just as people, but in combat. Not as if I ever met someone I couldn't hear, but you really are making this easy for me." The masked man called to the two, his hands outstretched diagonally towards the floor beside him in a position making him look like he was inviting someone for a hug, were it not for the numerous daggers embedded into the ice all over the roof. Or his terrifying 'smile.' "Oh well, time to end this, kids. You had your fun, but now, I have a contract to fulfill and you have an eternity to enjoy together. Well, in the next world, at least."

The strange wording caused Mako to raise his eyebrow, along with the fact that, despite this, the dark figure remained still, not moving towards them or attacking in any way. He stood there, as if waiting for the two to rise before his next movements began.

It was, as far as the firebender knew, similar to an airbending technique he saw Korra use a while ago, with his senses indicating that the end result would be a strong gust of wind emanating from the opposing direction towards him and Eska, most likely intent to push them off the roof to their deaths. Rather straightforward for a man like Songtan, but it didn't matter now. Pushing Eska out of the way as soon as Mako could see where the assassin aimed his attack, the detective chose to take the full brunt of the hit, yelling to Eska, hoping she would do as he said this once. "Run!"

But no gust of wind came…

No forceful attack knocking him back and off the roof to his death to spare Eska, nor was it a precise strike aimed at his neck, shattering it and killing him instantly, no…

That would have been moderately painless…

Instead, a loud scream emanated from Songtan's mask, with his hands shifting to manipulate and amplify the vibrational force the sound carried, truly showcasing an art Mako never imagined. "Soundbending." Or, at least what he called it in the heat of the moment. It used techniques similar to airbending, but was much more precise and seemingly used only for killing, as it used vibrations in the air, instead of sweeping and flowing motions of the wind and a feeling of peacefulness he often felt when witnessing airbending himself. This art carried a sinister edge, as the rippling, buzzing soundwaves crashed into and over everything they reached, guided by the bloody hands of this murderous madman. For a person of his morals and thirst for death to wield such an efficient killing tool frightened Mako still in his steps, adding to the effect of the screech he heard.

That was, until he felt the pain.

Throbbing, pulsing, endless pain invaded his head, as if the entirety of his skull wanted to cave inwards, practically forcing Mako to his knees, as he clutched at his cranium with both hands, letting out a yell of pain himself, only managing to glance to the side, seeing Eska in a similar position, crying out with her hands to her ears, the pain twisting her features, forcing her to the ground not unlike him. And around them, he suddenly noticed, the daggers embedded into the ground were slightly shaking. No…not shaking merely… _vibrating_. The assassin used his thrown tools as amplifiers, the metal resonating on a frequency that, apparently, caused intense pain to anyone listening to it, except for the deadly conductor of this orchestra of torment, who stood by with that ever present metallic grin, his hands moving carefully, fingers bent and then straightened as if he was playing an instrument of his choosing, its melody a message of destruction to all who heard it.

No!

It couldn't end like this!

Spending days finding evidence, theorizing for suspects and following a trail of bloody murders, while simultaneously protecting Eska and realizing a sense of endearment he caught himself holding towards the mostly cold woman, and for all of it to culminate in a mentally unstable killer torturing them to death with soundwaves and knives?

No.

Not while he was here.

Not while his lungs were capable of drawing a single breath.

Not while he was next to Eska.

Not like this!

With a shaky hand, which Mako slowly, painstakingly detached from his head, he took hold of the chief's hand and, even though every action he took felt like needles were shoved into his brain every second, squeezed it, which caused Eska to turn her head, looking at him, tears flowing freely from her eyes, forced out by the pain, her teeth grit together as she gazed at Mako, the pain surely as unbearable for her as it was for him.

With a short nod, he asked for her trust in the only gesture he was capable of currently, which she responded to in kind, nodding a little and he felt her muscles relaxing, at least as much as they could, the pain forcing them to be permanently tense, letting him take control and pull her in whatever surely insane idea he conjured up.

Looking over her shoulder, at this point finding difficulty to even move his limbs because of the vibrating pain inside his skull, Mako noted how close they were to the edge of the rooftop, something that gave him the idea in the first place. Taking in a deep breath, summoning all of his strength, the detective struggled into a crouched position, his hand reaching for Eska's shoulder, taking a firm hold of her, whilst his feet struggled to hold him up, something that drove an amused cackle out of their torturer, just a moment shy of losing consciousness, Mako launched himself over the edge, pulling Eska with him, out of range for the tiny bringers of death previously surrounding them, as well as the man operating them.

And then they fell.

The few moments seemed to stretch into infinity, as Mako's mind took in the surroundings, the sights and sounds as they plummeted towards the icy ground, his mind registering that his body would surely not survive the impact, but perhaps he could shield her enough so that she would make it with minor injuries.

He only wished to…

To…

Looking up, his wish was suddenly and, quite surprisingly, fulfilled for once. He looked at _her_ , eyes simply gazing into hers, as she spotted his orbs observing her own, while her hands were moving frantically, either in an attempt to grab something on the side of the building or perhaps something else he couldn't quite understand, but none of that mattered to him anymore. In a few moments, the hands of death would claim him and he would never feel anything anymore. Beats having his right forearm hurt every time he even thought about scratching his neck with his right hand, though not what he would have chosen when he woke up this morning of course.

Still, at least this one final wish was fulfilled. He looked into her eyes and soon, he noticed her looking into his. The apathy was long gone, as the tears streamed down her face, replaced by determination, though for what he could not comprehend. Most likely to survive. Or maybe to fight the assassin? If she really harbored such thoughts, he hoped she would not act upon them. Facing the madman still meant sure death, given their position most likely not just for her.

And yet, as they landed in an uncommonly large pile of snow, the cold, yet soft landing shaking Mako from his stupor, combined with Eska's immediate tugging at his body to rise and move away from where they dropped from, he came to understand everything she was doing. Her determination was for him, to keep him alive and to fight beside him as was necessary, while she bent snow under them, cushioning their fall.

The cold invigorating him somewhat, Mako struggled to his feet and, with Eska's help, bending the ice under her feet to effectively slide herself to safety while holding onto him, the two fled as quickly as possible, soon hearing a loud noise from behind them as Songtan landed on the ground, obviously determined to hunt his prey down even if it proved to be craftier and bolder than anticipated.

"Hey, where are you going? The song's not over, idiots!" He shouted after the two, accompanying his words with a deranged laugh, rushing after them in a pace they both noticed wasn't his fastest, which hinted he was either tiring, preserving his strength or toying with them.

They 'ran' towards the largest open area they saw, the town square, hoping to either find guards there, who could come to their aid, or something to use to their advantage, be it a weapon or hiding spot, with the grey shadow in close pursuit behind them.

Reaching the opening's edge, Mako was about to look back and try to see if their opponent was still behind them, when Eska's body jerked violently, a short knife having hit her left shoulder, embedding into her flesh deeply, causing the technique she was using to be violently interrupted, causing both of them to fall and reach a short way into the square, to the detective's horror, with no one else in sight. He tried to move his legs, but none of his limbs responded, so all he could do was lie there and look desperately in the chief's direction, seeing her pathetic attempt to crawl away from their point of impact, using her good hand, but clearly having been weakened by the fighting and the fall.

"Don't stop! Go and don't look back, Eska! You must get away as fast as possible!" Mako cried out, desperately trying to breathe life back into his limbs, as well as motivate her to do the same. "It can't end now, not like this! You must escape, go and leave me! You must li-" His words were interrupted by a kick to the back of his head, which forced his mouth closed in a single moment, teeth embedding into his tongue and drawing blood, nearly biting it in two from sheer impact alone, as Songtan advanced further towards Eska, keeping a leisurely pace and obviously having kicked his adversary in the head on his way.

"Shut up, 'detective.' You'll get your turn to scream, but now, I want to hear what sweet melodies the little princess holds in her guts." Songtan chuckled, pulling a short blade from his belt, spinning it in his hand to reveal it was different from the amplifiers he used earlier. This was specifically used for cutting and stabbing. And, as he reached Eska, punctuating his arrival with another kick to her stomach, he crouched over her, knife held in one hand, while his other one dug into her hair, pulling upwards to reveal her tear soaked, pain contorted, yet still defiant and determined looking face, as she gazed into his eyes, without fear. If she were to die like this, then so be it. She just wished her death would be in service to her people, in battle maybe, not taken out by a lowly assassin. "And don't even try anything. I can hear every breath you take, so no funny business." Songtan called back to Mako, her eyes shifting to briefly look at him, for some reason, feeling odd as soon as her icy blue orbs met his.

As if she drew some sort of…strength from him. He did save her…twice now, but still, there was something else in it. She…she wanted to _be_ with him. Be beside him, fight alongside him beyond what they were doing now, help him…be where he was, not a few feet away. Dying didn't sound _that_ bad even, if it could be in his company.

Not far away, Mako was feeling the same, he felt an enormous need to be there with Eska, to be with her, something that spread beyond their current peril, beyond the fact he wanted to protect her from this monster's blade. He thought back to their time together, feeling like it took hours, though it was only a few moments. In a single instance, images flashed before his eyes. The two of them traversing the town, that fateful first fight in the bar he went to investigate…their arguments, their disagreements, the way she adapted somewhat to his ideas, him in turn doing so to hers…that evening, together with her, those two words she spoke to him…that silly, yet undeniably sweet monicker she came up with for him, all of these he recalled in an instant…

And at that moment, something in him snapped.

Forcing all of the strength still left in his body, Mako pressed his left hand against the ground, shakily pressing himself into an upright position, still unable to stand, but at least sit up somewhat, white hot pain, but steely determination battling under his skin. It wasn't mindless rage aimed at the hitman anymore. It was the determined thought, the unbreakable vow that he would protect Eska and be with her afterwards, help her as she needed and stop anyone from hurting her.

Raising one hand into the air, he extended two fingers and aimed them at Songtan…

"Well, I think it's time we ended you for good. You're far more boring than the 'detective' anyway. No emotion, no passion, just staring like you own the place." The assassin said, his mocking tone evident, while his fingers toyed with the dagger he held. "Trust me, if not me, someone else will thrust a blade down your throat, just for being so bo-" And, with a thunderous sound that was loud enough people later claimed they heard it all the way to Ba Sing Se, Songtan's words were cut short by a bolt of lightning that struck him, the blue coils of electric power hitting him across the back and the power of it flinging him across the square, landing further away, with his armor blackened in certain areas, burned in several places, his body hitting the ground hard, just before Mako, his hand that shot the bolt still aimed at his target, fell back, the last of his strength leaving him, along with consciousness, due to his injuries, his last words before the darkness took him, spoken through a bloody mouth, "Get away from her, you maniac!"

Eska looked back, her arm now used to crawl towards Mako, legs slowly regaining their strength, helping her along, while she heard the metallic clattering behind her, indicating that the madman was very much alive, though shaken, mumbling to himself constantly. "I….I…I-I didn't hear that. I…I didn't, I….how did I not hear that? I didn't…" He stuttered, pulling another blade free of its sheath on his belt, in order to replace the one lost in his tumble. But Eska held no care for him. No. All that mattered now was that she reached him…reached Mako. To not waste this chance of being with him once again. If it meant death, then so be it, not like she was in any condition to fight or flee. Slowly reaching the detective's limp body, she put a hand to his chest, her eyes carrying sadness and worry, for the one she was saved by so many times.

"Alright, 'detective' I tip my hat to you. That was impressive. Lightningbending like that, without any sound, phew…crafty." Songtan said, his voice still shaky, as the blade was raised above his head for a final blow, clearly his wisecracks having been lost momentarily in the lightning strike.

However, just as he was about to stab the two together, hell-bent on ending their lives one beside the other, the sound of boots stomping into snow and ice filled the area, as a good two dozen guards swarmed the place, their spears and eyes all aimed at the assassin, leaving way for no escape, but for another figure to step through their ranks, soon revealed to all as Desna, carrying a stern expression, his right hand at the ready to bend water.

"Halt, by order of the royal Chief of the Northern Water Tribe!" He shouted to the grey-clad being, his eyes tightening slightly upon seeing his sister and Mako before the beastly man. "You are under arrest for multiple accounts of murder, conspiring against the Chief of North, assault, assault of an officer of the law, theft, kidnapping and trespassing! Surrender now and you will not be harmed. Drop your blade and allow yourself to be taken into custody!" He declared, the target of his speech having been preoccupied himself by shifting his stature so as to be ready for any attacks aimed at him from the guards, before, upon hearing the chiefs words calling for a non-violent capture, Songtan suddenly lowered his blade and stood still, as if contemplating surrender, before his shoulders slowly began to shake, his head was thrown back and loud, hysterical laughter burst from his mouth as soon as he spotted Baroque, his employer, held in chains behind Desna, looking very miserable and lost in his shackles.

"Oh, what a great twist right at the end, I couldn't have written this little case better." He exclaimed, still half chuckling, folding his arms as if the several dozen spears held right at him posed no threat to his wellbeing. "Your sister is a crafty one, I presume she tipped you off on who to look for and where to come, were she not to return, eh?" Even though the current acting chief gave no response other than an unamused frown, Songtan continued as if he very much said yes to his question. "Oh well, the secret's up, you got me, the great murderer of the North, in the flesh, congratulations!" He gave a bow, his voice still sounding giddy and excited despite his predicament, or the crimes he was fully admitting to, head trained at Desna, the black pools of the mask's eyes staring into his piercing blue orbs. "However…" The madman paused, straightening his back and looking once more around himself. "As much fun as this place brought me, I see that the locals don't very much appreciate my actions against overpopulation. Ungrateful morons. Oh well, life is cruel." In the middle of his final sentence, at which point, on Desna's orders, the guards began advancing forward, the mercenary opened his right palm and slammed the object within it, retrieved from a pouch when he bowed down and folded his arms, on the ground, causing thick smoke to erupt around him and cover the entire group of people, leaving no trace of the man once it subsided, only his maniacal laughter heard for a few moments while the smokescreen lasted.

* * *

Afterwards, as Desna began barking orders to the guards, sending out groups to search for the escaped assassin, the smoke cleared and finally, Eska let out the breath she did not realize she held in for the past couple of seconds, her attention refocusing on the person lying on the ground next to her.

Mako was still unconscious, which immediately drew concern from her, changing her expression from apathy and slight anger towards their previous opponent, to worry, somewhat more pronounced than previously, seeing the wounds their battle left him with. She had to help him, clearly. She simply had to. The detect-no…Mako, was responsible for saving her life multiple times, how could she not be in his debt? No…this was…something else. She felt something else. Not many could ever claim to have gotten on close terms with the Chief of North. Of course, how could anyone? She was a leader, a ruler, her mind had to be focused on best leading her people now. The days of being tribal princess, the days of foolish passion, things like what happened between her and Bolin, those were in the past, but…something about the young man currently cradled in her arms as she bent water to the wounds she could mend with her limited knowledge on healing techniques was different.

She felt…odd, when near him. A kind of…warmth filled the area, she felt. Well, he was a firebender, as well as a firey ferret according to her, so the warmth must have been that…but no. As soon as she recalled that silly name she gave him during their time together, she realized. Her mind made the necessary connections, between feelings and the events producing them. Why could she not see this before? Or maybe she did, but her mind did not want to accept it as real. She deemed it as something childish, belonging to the old days, when the world seemed to be on the verge of ending and her emotions got the better of her. It seemed lost, but…something teased it back to the light and, for the first time in a long time, she felt something she could only describe as true happiness, as due to her actions, Mako began to slowly stir from his slumber, a short cough leaving his throat.

"Mako…Mako?" She gently shook his shoulder with a hand, feeling a sense of joy she found once he began to slowly open his eyes, after a short time of confused staring at nothing, finally focusing on her and, upon his gaze meeting her own, a tired, small smile overtaking his visage.

"E…Eska?" He almost asked, as if he could not believe her visage before him, her face inches away from his own, the moment feeling…long. And strangely intimate, as if…no, who was she fooling anymore? And seeing from his gaze meeting hers, he was on a very similar thought as she, prompting her head to dip forward slightly.

Her lips met his in a soft kiss, which, after a surprised grunt, he responded to in kind, his arms encircling her and pulling her close, just as hers did the same, this gesture of wordless passion, an expression of silent feelings locking out everything else, as if the entire world only consisted of them alone, unwilling to acknowledge anything else, just that soft, sweet embrace of theirs that felt so warm, yet never quite enough to burn or cause discomfort.

And as the healers Desna called for arrived, two of them immediately began advancing towards the pair, were it not for the two thin, wrinkled hands that grabbed their shoulders, holding them back a little as an elderly woman's voice whispered to them. "Wait. Just a moment. Let them enjoy it for a few more seconds." She said, a gentle smile appearing on her face, the sight confirming her suspicions from the therapy sessions Mako had with her.

However, after a few more seconds of being joined in their loving kiss, the pair reluctantly refocused their attention on the outside world, slowly staggering to their feet with the help of others. For now, Desna had both of them escorted to his and Eska's private residence for treatment of their wounds, while he led a search through town along with the imprisonment of Baroque.


	13. Embrace of Warmth and Cool

Author's notes: Here we are. I initially planned just 10 episodes, you know. And it then elongated into 12 and afterwards, well, I decided to add one more, to close off the story properly and see the characters off nicely. I hope you all had fun and will enjoy both my next story and future works that I'll make, be they alone or with a friend. (Looking at you here, Rassilon. :D ) Also, if anybody has a story they need assistance with or have something they'd like to commission, you know where to find me. I don't promise I'll be able to write any story, but if it clicks and I like it, I'd happily offer my services. But anyway, blah blah bladdy blah, I know what you're here for, so ON WITH THE STORY!

Update upon continuation of writing: Okay, it has taken me FAR LONGER than I wished. (Between AU and this, it took me around two or three weeks, mind you.) I basically got a job now. Don't worry, I can still write, but sometimes, I might not be as productive because of the job I have to do. Also, for a long while, because of some bullsh*t, my electricity was basically cut and I wasn't able to write. (Or eat anything beyond buttered bread either.) But now, I'm back and will most likely begin writing what I plan to be another longer story. As for now, I hope you've enjoyed this long (and sometimes a little slow) story of mine and will enjoy my next one just as much.

Disclaimer: *Regular Copyright blurb about not owning copyrighted properties.*

* * *

They spent a week recovering.

Immediately after the dust settled, Baroque was publicly arrested and shoved into an icy cell in prison, while Mako and Eska were carried to the chief's residence and, under Roka's supervision, the healers got to work.

When Mako first got into the mood of casually chatting, beyond reports about how he felt during the procedures, Roka was just about done with the wounds on his torso, excluding both arms, before moving on to his limbs next.

"How's Eska?" He breathed out, glancing at the elderly woman, who merely chuckled, bending the water with her hands to move on to his left arm through the shoulder.

"She's being treated by the best healers other than me, worry not. Lord Desna would not have had it any other way for his sister." Her warm smile calmed him a little, though he still felt worry for her life. What if Songtan came back? He wouldn't have been surprised if the deranged assassin wished to complete his work even after being denied further payment by his employer. This caused his eyes to narrow slightly, something the healer did not fail to notice.

"Are you thinking of the smiling guest of ours you were chasing?" She sighed as her eyes caught him nodding, attempting to wave away all worry from his mind with her soothing voice and gestures. "While I don't know much about investigation or the assassin himself, I'd say your concerns are misguided. If he has any brains, he left the city before the sun rose. You gave him quite the beating from what I could see in the crowd."

"Not before he gave me and Eska a beating, though." Mako said, grunting in pain as she covered a particularly bad area with water. "We were lucky this time, but who knows how many more he will kill?" His body moved slightly, as if instinctively wanting to escape his predicament. "Either here, or someplace else, he will-" but he never quite reached the end of his sentence, as Roka cut him off.

"Right now, to me, at least, your life is what's more important. Despite what you might have thought in the heat of the moment, that situation could've easily been lethal, had we not intervened. And I don't just mean the guards." The elderly healer explained, her voice firm one moment, but relaxing as she elaborated on her point. "You want to carry the world's problems on your back and I admire that. However," she paused, as if unsure, but as his eyes caught her visage, she was visibly only focused when reaching a more severe wound. "you are not capable to bear every task, nor is anyone asking you this, Mako. You must rest sometime, so you can do more good once you have recovered." Begrudgingly, he had to admit, she had a point. No use in getting himself killed via vengeance seeking assassin he pissed off, or by exhaustion and untreated wounds.

To try and calm the storm that were his thoughts about the killer's next destination and future actions, the detective decided to focus on something else entirely, his brain switching to the other most important thing on his mind right now.

"So, uh, what will happen next? I mean, to Eska and, uhm…" This caused Roka to slightly chuckle, though not at all in a disrespectful manner.

"If you are asking about her health, I would say about a week more of therapy, based on the kind of fight you two had and then, beyond some enhanced security, I assume they will give you a reward and that would be it." She said, one hand kept on bending the water, while the other, currently free, rose to her chin in thought. "Not much else that I can think of. Life will move on, I suppose."

Mako's expression saddened a little, but he nodded. No point in indulging his silly fantasy. What he thought back then was surely just an idiotic dream in the heat of moment, like her kiss to him. It felt meaningful, but, well, he was sure it wasn't. It just didn't fit the picture. "For the best, I guess." He said, sighing as he leant back a bit more.

"You sound unhappy with this outcome, what's the matter?" Roka responded, raising an eyebrow, though her voice sounded awfully… _knowing._ As if she was well aware of the reason behind his gloomyness, but wanted to hear him saying it.

"I…I don't think I even know. I think I'm just tired. I…" He sighed, trying to collect his thoughts. He would never say _that_ out loud, so the task before him was to dance around it, but be descriptive enough for himself to be satisfied. Tough job to be sure. "I think I was confused about something and…well, anyway, it's all clear to me now."

"Oh, you mean the kiss?" She asked, her small smile seemingly widening as soon as the gasp and grunt of surprise from Mako reached her ears. To his more than startled and slightly scared expression, she gave a gentle pat on his shoulder and a calming chuckle in response. "Worry not, Mako. We talked daily and you expressed it well enough how much you care about her, even if you didn't want to. I perfectly understood everything and, after a quick word, so did the other healers, but you can rest easy, we're not known to be that chatty about these things. As for your concern, well…" She could almost hear as he swallowed the lump in his throat, both the topic and the little surprise from before having taken a toll on him. "I can only say time will tell. I have no way of knowing what Lady Eska is going to do and thus, I do not wish to ignite false hopes in you."

Only responding with a slight nod, Mako acknowledged that this time, she would have little assurance to offer beyond lies. And perhaps it was better that way. Some things in life you could just not prepare to. Like the assassin to his burst of adrenaline, allowing the momentary lightningbending, the thought of which still caused his hand to twitch as if it were shocked again. Oh, that was a reckless move he would never repeat.

Suddenly, however, a young man dressed in an official's uniform rushed into the chamber, carrying a small device that the detective recognized as a long distance communicator and through heavy breaths uttered the following. "I'm…*cough*…sorry to interrupt,…*wheeze*…sir and ma'am, but…Detective Mako has an…*cough*…urgent call from…Zaofu." He explained, holding out the receiving end of the device to Mako, while setting down the bulk of the machine on a nearby short table.

Looking at Roka, who gave him an affirmative nod, Mako took the device and held it to his ear, softly asking "Hello…?" just before a loud shout in Bolin's voice nearly deafened him.

"Hey, bro! What happened with you?! What's going on?! Why are you at the North?!" The earthbender sounded terrified, but also relieved at having heard his brother's voice.

"Relax. I'm alright." With a soft grunt, Mako winced as just then, water passed through another deep cut. "Or, at least getting there. Just took a bit of a beating, but I'm being healed up. I'll fill you in once we both make it back to Republic City."

As soon as he said this, there was an audible gasp on the other end and then some loud voices that Mako could only discern as Bolin and Opal arguing. "Hey, when can we go to Republic City the soonest?!" and "…just arrived…" as well as "…mom will be mad if…" being the only things he could make out before some more shuffling of some cloth and his brother's voice returned.

"Alright, when are you going back? Just curious…" Looking at Roka, who could most likely hear everything due to the volume at which the earthbender brother spoke, Mako received a small smile and he healer's fingers showing him three, then four digits.

"Uh, about three-four weeks…" a shake of her head followed "…days?" An agreeing nod.

"Alright, hold on, let me write that down." A few moments of scribbling later, the chatter began again.

"So, uh, how are things over there? What happened, why did you travel there?"

"That's a long story." Mako sighed, then chuckled, remembering the beginning of all of this hassle. "I'll tell you when I get back, but all you need to know is that my scars are getting healed and there was a murder case I got, uh…'dropped' into." He explained, slightly sighing as he immediately heard the audible gasp of shock from the other side. "Don't…freak out. I'm okay, alright? Just…had a bit of a tumble, but I'm alright."

After that, they discussed some things, including the fact that Lin told Bolin about Mako's situation during a short phonecall, but not much else happened, aside from Bolin's and Opal's wedding, for which he congratulated them and gave supportive words for his suspicion on Opal being pregnant.

The two hung up soon after and Mako resumed his session with Roka, the healer giving her own congratulations about the news the detective received.

And she was proven correct. On the third day after the phonecall took place, after a final session, Roka declared the firebender to be fully healed and informed him that arrangements have been already made for him to allow travel back to Republic City.

The next day, Mako was invited into the throne room of the twin chiefs and was slightly surprised to find not just them, but a small crowd of people amassed as part of some ceremony. Both chiefs were seated in their respective thrones and called him forth to kneel before them, following which Eska withdrew a medallion crafted from silver and decorated with what he saw as sapphire, bearing the sigil of the water tribe, from a decorated box, approaching him. Looking up, he could see the same somewhat apathetic expression Eska always wore as she gave the declaration.

"Honorable Detective Mako of Republic City, as Chief of the North, I hereby award you this medal in recognition of your valiant and brave efforts, bringing the murderer Songtan to justice. All of the North is indebted to your service." The short ceremony was followed by lots of cheers, as well as a declaration that he would be given a ticket to a ship departing tomorrow, a first class cabin and all expenses paid for by the chiefs. ' _It was the least they could do_ ' as Eska explained, but before long, the ceremony was over and Mako was told he could leave, only managing to spot the two chiefs talking to one another quite closely on his way out.

The next day came so quickly, he almost didn't even notice and now here he was, standing at the harbor, feeling ready, but still unsure about going back home. Mako felt…torn. As if one side of him desperately wanted to go back home and do his job again, the other wanted to stay here and get to know the North better. And, well…no. That was just a stupid dream he was sure he needed to move on from.

And with a heavy sigh, he started walking towards the ship he was scheduled to leave on, were it not for the sudden voice calling out his name.

"Before you leave, detective, I would like to have a word with you." The woman stepped forward, speaking in a tone and voice that he recognized and looking at her, clad in a long coat like before, Mako could barely stifle his shock and happiness. Not so much for the fact that she referred to him as 'detective' once more.

Still, as Eska approached, the firebender braced himself for perhaps another explanation of why she did what she did back then after the battle with the murderer, or some heartfelt goodbyes and regards being sent to Korra and Bolin.

But no…

That was not what happened.

Instead, as Mako began to form a royal greeting in his mind, he was suddenly interrupted by the soft fabric forming the sleeves of Eska's coat encircling him in a hug.

"Uhm…" He tried to speak, but only managed to utter gibberish throughout the short embrace, managing to at least hug her back and gently rub Eska's back.

"I wished to see you here a final time before you departed, Mako. Though our business was largely official, I felt it became…personal throughout the final days of it and wanted to give you a token of how personal it felt for me…" At the end, she seemed to pause, something he would've taken as quite uncharacteristic, were it not for the servant bringing to her a small wooden box and out of it, Eska picked out a medallion, depicting both the symbols of the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe fused into one decoration, which she handed him. "This is my personal gift to you, for what you have done." She explained, something which drew a smile, but also an almost revealed tear to his face. "May your travels see you safely."

* * *

That was the last word they spoke to each other beyond goodbyes, as Eska stepped away, allowing him to move up onto the ship and see her figure disappear into the crowd, sighing to himself.

It was official now, he was returning home…as much as it somehow hurt to do so. But every great adventure ends once so that new ones may begin in their stead. And putting his things into his room on the ship, Mako walked onto the upper deck, gazing at the long open sea, then glancing down at the small ornate gift he was given.

"Farewell, Eska…" He muttered to himself, thinking of her once more, before preparing to exile such ideas from his mind. Like all adventures with Korra before, there was a time to move on. And here it was now.

It would be hard, but-

"Why do you look so somber, my firey ferret?" Mako almost dropped the medallion from his hand with the jolt his body received as a surprisingly familiar voice came from behind him.

Wha-whuh-what?" The detective gasped, turning around, grasping the railing beside him to stop his body from falling over in surprise. "Eska?"

The chief stood before him, clad still in her long coat, her expression soft, including a small, though noticeably happy, smile. His lack of words that made sense seemed to amuse her, as her smile seemed to only grow. Not much, but it was wider than he has ever seen her smile before. And he had to admit, a smile definitely suited her.

"Your visage looks as if something terrible has happened to you, I was beginning to worry." She said, stepping closer to him, but the smile never left her, as if she was already aware of his thoughts. "Maybe I can bring you some relief of sorts?" She asked, causing him to nod inwardly. Of course she could. With some much needed answers.

"Well, first of all, why are you here? I thought we said goodbyes on the shore, before the ship left port…" Also, why was she on a ship that has already left the North.

"How else would I be going to Republic City?" She simply responded, raising an eyebrow, as if he was asking nonsense.

"And…why would you be going there?" He responded after a pause, still not understanding her reasons for what was currently happening.

"It is my duty, as diplomatic envoy of the Northern Water Tribe. I must travel to Republic City as part of my duties." She explained, as if it were common knowledge.

"But aren't you both chiefs of the North with Desna? What will happen when his shift ends?" He questioned still, noting that she had not yet stopped and was still approaching closer to him, though much slower now.

"It will not. We have come to an agreement to abandon the shared leadership. It left one too much that the other could not oversee. And thus, I became a royal envoy. To Be fair, by law, Desna is the true heir to the throne either way…by about twelve minutes." Her soothing voice laid it all out to him, though still sounding like she was bored of explaining such simple things. Until she got to the next part.

"I am sure I will miss my home, but it will be good to see more of the world…" Pausing, she took in a breath, only being about a single step away from him. Letting out that breath, she took that final step and continued. "And to be close to you."

At that moment, Mako needed no more explanations. He understood completely and welcomed her attempt for an embrace with that of his own, neither of them needing any more words as both of them leaned forward, lips meeting in a kiss. His mind screamed at him to not do it, that it was a foolish dream he would only be an idiot to chase. As a matter of fact, so did hers. But neither of them paid it any mind. They both ignored these voices and kept the other close, as the ship continued to sail toward their mutual destination.

Once their lips' embrace broke, after a long time, she gazed into his eyes and spoke softly, something he would have found quite uncharacteristic, had he not spent so much time with her.

"I love you…my fiery ferret…" She said.

"I love you too, Eska…" He responded in kind.

They never looked back after that, upon the times they left behind, for neither of them cared too much of what came before. Only of what awaited them together. Eska quickly had Mako's belongings moved to her own private quarters, while the two of them remained by each other's sides throughout the entire journey, never leaving each other alone for more than a few seconds.

And once that journey ended, they would remain together as much as they could, for years and years to come.

For they both have realized that this dream of theirs was one worth chasing after.


End file.
